Books That Shape Perspective

From demography to cartography, from tribal politics to representation, and from nationalism to leadership ethics — these six titles deepen understanding of India's past and sharpen clarity about its future

- SANJEEV CHOPRA

My editors have asked me to pen my thoughts on the books that have resonated with me in the course of the year.

After excluding the ones shortlisted for the VoW Book Awards in the Non-Fiction category, I am focusing on the ones that have impacted my current work on the reorganisation of India's internal boundaries and strategic frontiers, the political questions that contemporary India must answer, and some writings on how to seek excellence in ecosystems that are far from being perfect.

Here are the six books that I wish to list:

MISSING FROM THE HOUSE

MUSLIM WOMEN IN THE LOK SABHA BY RASHEED KIDWAI AND AMBAR K. GHOSH

If democracy is about representation, then the most disadvantaged demographic group is perhaps Muslim women, who constitute at least half of the 175 million Muslim population (14.5%) of the country, and have not had a single member in five of the eighteen Lok Sabhas constituted so far in Independent India. Equally, if not more shocking, is the fact that their number has never crossed four in a 543-member House. A total of 18 Muslim women have ever managed to reach the Lok Sabha, but even within this small number, the majority seem to have entered the Lok Sabha more out of a sense of filial responsibility and a sense of duty towards the patriarch, often stepping in to fill their shoes as daughters, wives, daughters-in-law, and nieces. Hence, their political agency, though exercised as leaders, has remained trapped in the narrative of responsibility rather than their own political calling.

HEART OVER MIND & WINNING AT WORK AGAINST ALL ODDS BY ASHWANI LOHANI