World Order by Henry Kissinger

I picked up this book to learn about Diplomacy and Foreign Relations. It was a fascinating read, and it provided me with many interesting insights into the world of Global Politics. I have read Deterring Democracy by Noam Chomsky, and in many ways, this book is the polar opposite of that book. This book elucidates…

India after Gandhi by Ramchandra Guha

'India after Gandhi' by Ramchandra Guha is an account of Indian history after Independence from colonial rule. It starts with topics like the integration of the princely states, and the mass migration of Hindus into India from Pakistan post-partition and concludes with the rise of the BJP as the pre-eminent party in Indian politics, displacing…

Deterring Democracy by Noam Chomsky

A small side note A couple of months ago, I was looking at books in a second-hand bookstore with a friend. There are quite a few sizeable second-hand book stores on MG Road in Bangalore, and I go there a few times every year. In the age of Google and e-books, exploring through stacks of…

Army and Nation by Steven I. Wilkinson

Army and Nation is a book focussed on the Indian army and its relationship with the civil leadership of India. The book mostly explores the ethnic composition of the Indian army and the early reforms carried out by the Congress after Independence. It also contrasts these two factors with the Pakistani army and the larger…

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E Schwab

This was the first contemporary fiction I read in a couple of years, on the recommendation of a friend. It did not disappoint. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue was tragically mystical and beautifully written. Thematically, it spoke to me and the characters were phenomenally deep and memorable. Two major aspects of this book stand…

India’s Founding Moment : The Constitution of a Most Surprising Democracy by Madhav Khosla

I wanted to learn about the conception of the Indian Constitution. I found this book which explored the major predicaments faced by the constituent assembly and the thought process behind the structure of the constitution. It is an interesting book that explores the dilemmas faced by the founding fathers while writing a constitution for a…

Legacy

Years later, when the internet is unrecognizable,Your thoughts would still occupy a tiny crevice,A corner, you may circle back to,To look back at who you were,and trace how you've changed. By some chance, if you were to become famous,Curious people would visit to see your early work,Either to appreciate the past you,Or to look for…

The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I read ‘The Gulag Archipelago Volume I’ about six months ago. Unfortunately, I did not write a review at the time and therefore this review may not capture all my detailed thoughts on this book. I should re-read this book in the future and would like to read volume II at some point. Despite the…

What Makes Re:Zero Special

Picture Credits: wallpaperaccess.com At the moment the anime eclipsing all other anime is ‘Attack on Titan’. It is currently airing part one of it’s final season. This season is capitalizing on all the build up of the previous seasons and is delivering a stellar finale. Despite its exploits, one anime is holding it’s own with…

Contrasting Slavoj Zizek with Jordan Peterson

I first watched Slavoj Zizek when he debated Jordan Peterson in ‘The debate that was not’. Most of the debate was Slavoj and Jordan discussing their commonalities than actually debating on their differences. Yet as personalities both these individuals are starkly different.   Slavoj challenged a few of Jordan Peterson’s rules, especially about personal responsibility.…