20 Books like Imaginary Homelands

India that is Bharat

by J. Sai Deepak • 2021

Independence did not end colonialism. It just moved inside the constitution.

4.42

2k+

📚 Postcolonial Theory 🇮🇳 Indian Politics 🌍 Decolonial Thought 🏛️ Cultural Imperialism 🌐 Eurocentrism Critique

India that is Bharat 95%

Independence did not end colonialism. It just moved inside the constitution.

by J. Sai Deepak 2021

4.42

2k+ ratings

📚 Postcolonial Theory 🇮🇳 Indian Politics 🌍 Decolonial Thought 🏛️ Cultural Imperialism 🌐 Eurocentrism Critique

Power, Politics and Culture

by Edward W. Said • 2001

The scholar who revealed how Western learning became a tool of empire, in his own words.

4.26

613

🏛️ Postcolonial Theory 🕌 Middle Eastern Politics 🗺️ Cultural Imperialism 🎙️ Public Intellectuals 📖 Literary Criticism

Power, Politics and Culture 95%

The scholar who revealed how Western learning became a tool of empire, in his own words.

by Edward W. Said 2001

4.26

613 ratings

🏛️ Postcolonial Theory 🕌 Middle Eastern Politics 🗺️ Cultural Imperialism 🎙️ Public Intellectuals 📖 Literary Criticism

Inglorious Empire

by Shashi Tharoor • 2016

From 23% of global GDP to 3%: the extraction Britain called its civilizing mission.

4.17

13k+

🇬🇧 British Empire 🇮🇳 Indian History 💰 Economic Extraction ⚔️ Colonial Violence 🌾 Colonial Famine

Inglorious Empire 94%

From 23% of global GDP to 3%: the extraction Britain called its civilizing mission.

by Shashi Tharoor 2016

4.17

13k+ ratings

🇬🇧 British Empire 🇮🇳 Indian History 💰 Economic Extraction ⚔️ Colonial Violence 🌾 Colonial Famine

The Discovery of India

by Jawaharlal Nehru • 1946

From a British prison, one leader retraces five millennia of Indian civilization: who are we?

4.10

9k+

🪧 Anticolonial Movements 🇬🇧 British Colonialism 🕉️ Cultural Synthesis 📜 Civilizational History 💰 Colonial Economics

The Discovery of India 94%

From a British prison, one leader retraces five millennia of Indian civilization: who are we?

by Jawaharlal Nehru 1946

4.10

9k+ ratings

🪧 Anticolonial Movements 🇬🇧 British Colonialism 🕉️ Cultural Synthesis 📜 Civilizational History 💰 Colonial Economics

The Doctor and the Saint

by Arundhati Roy • 2017

One man wanted reform, the other annihilation. Their clash over caste still defines India.

4.33

3k+

🇮🇳 Caste In India ⚖️ Dalit Politics 📜 Historical Revisionism ☸️ Ambedkarite Buddhism 🏛️ Modern Indian History

The Doctor and the Saint 94%

One man wanted reform, the other annihilation. Their clash over caste still defines India.

by Arundhati Roy 2017

4.33

3k+ ratings

🇮🇳 Caste In India ⚖️ Dalit Politics 📜 Historical Revisionism ☸️ Ambedkarite Buddhism 🏛️ Modern Indian History

From Plassey to Partition

by Sekhar Bandyopadhyay • 2004

Imperial greed, local ambition, fractured nationalism: built modern India, broke it at Partition.

4.20

1k+

🇮🇳 Modern Indian History 🇬🇧 British Empire 💰 Colonial Economies ✊ Nationalist Movements 💔 Partition Of India

From Plassey to Partition 93%

Imperial greed, local ambition, fractured nationalism: built modern India, broke it at Partition.

by Sekhar Bandyopadhyay 2004

4.20

1k+ ratings

🇮🇳 Modern Indian History 🇬🇧 British Empire 💰 Colonial Economies ✊ Nationalist Movements 💔 Partition Of India

A Nation of Idiots

by Daksh Tyagi • 2019

India doesn't produce citizens. It produces conformists. And the training starts at birth.

3.87

515

🇮🇳 Indian Society 🗳️ Indian Politics 🎭 Political Satire 🐑 Social Conformity 📺 Media Criticism

A Nation of Idiots 93%

India doesn't produce citizens. It produces conformists. And the training starts at birth.

by Daksh Tyagi 2019

3.87

515 ratings

🇮🇳 Indian Society 🗳️ Indian Politics 🎭 Political Satire 🐑 Social Conformity 📺 Media Criticism

The Making of Exile

by Nandita Bhavnani • 2014

Sindh's Hindus did not flee a massacre. They were eroded out of their homeland.

4.17

145

📜 Partition Histories 🧳 Forced Migration ⚔️ Communal Violence 🏙️ Cultural Assimilation 🎙️ Oral History

The Making of Exile 93%

Sindh's Hindus did not flee a massacre. They were eroded out of their homeland.

by Nandita Bhavnani 2014

4.17

145 ratings

📜 Partition Histories 🧳 Forced Migration ⚔️ Communal Violence 🏙️ Cultural Assimilation 🎙️ Oral History

Worshipping False Gods

by Arun Shourie • 1997

An icon of Indian justice never fought for freedom and served in the colonial government instead.

3.83

365

🏛️ Indian Politics 📜 Historical Revisionism 🌏 Post-Colonial Critique 🛕 Political Deification 🎭 National Mythmaking

Worshipping False Gods 93%

An icon of Indian justice never fought for freedom and served in the colonial government instead.

by Arun Shourie 1997

3.83

365 ratings

🏛️ Indian Politics 📜 Historical Revisionism 🌏 Post-Colonial Critique 🛕 Political Deification 🎭 National Mythmaking

The Bengalis

by Sudeep Chakravarti • 2017

Language bound them; religion and borders broke them: a portrait of 250 million Bengalis.

3.90

215

🐅 Bengali Identity 🗺️ South Asian History ✂️ Partition Of India 🔍 Cultural Ethnography 🗣️ Language Politics

The Bengalis 93%

Language bound them; religion and borders broke them: a portrait of 250 million Bengalis.

by Sudeep Chakravarti 2017

3.90

215 ratings

🐅 Bengali Identity 🗺️ South Asian History ✂️ Partition Of India 🔍 Cultural Ethnography 🗣️ Language Politics

Glimpses of World History

by Jawaharlal Nehru • 1934

From a British prison cell, a jailed father teaches his daughter all of world history.

4.32

2k+

✊ Anti-Imperialist History 🌍 World History Survey 🏛️ Comparative Civilizations 🔒 Prison Writing 📜 Rise And Fall Of Empires

Glimpses of World History 93%

From a British prison cell, a jailed father teaches his daughter all of world history.

by Jawaharlal Nehru 1934

4.32

2k+ ratings

✊ Anti-Imperialist History 🌍 World History Survey 🏛️ Comparative Civilizations 🔒 Prison Writing 📜 Rise And Fall Of Empires

The Beautiful Tree

by Dharampal • 1983

Precolonial India educated one in four children through village schools. Then British rule broke it.

4.38

184

🏛️ Colonial Education 🌿 Indigenous Knowledge 📚 Caste And Education 🇬🇧 British Raj Education 🌍 Cultural Imperialism

The Beautiful Tree 93%

Precolonial India educated one in four children through village schools. Then British rule broke it.

by Dharampal 1983

4.38

184 ratings

🏛️ Colonial Education 🌿 Indigenous Knowledge 📚 Caste And Education 🇬🇧 British Raj Education 🌍 Cultural Imperialism

We Need New Stories

by Nesrine Malik • 2021

The stories we tell about free speech, gender, and national virtue protect power, not truth.

4.02

996

🎭 Political Myths 📰 Media Criticism 🌐 Cultural Myths ⛓️ Systemic Inequality 🗣️ Free Speech Debates

We Need New Stories 92%

The stories we tell about free speech, gender, and national virtue protect power, not truth.

by Nesrine Malik 2021

4.02

996 ratings

🎭 Political Myths 📰 Media Criticism 🌐 Cultural Myths ⛓️ Systemic Inequality 🗣️ Free Speech Debates

A History of Bangladesh

by Willem van Schendel • 2009

A delta shaped by rivers and monsoons, not just by kings: the deep past of Bangladesh.

4.20

250

🗺️ South Asian History 🌿 Environmental History ✂️ Partition Of India 🏛️ Colonial Legacies 📜 Longue DuréE History

A History of Bangladesh 92%

A delta shaped by rivers and monsoons, not just by kings: the deep past of Bangladesh.

by Willem van Schendel 2009

4.20

250 ratings

🗺️ South Asian History 🌿 Environmental History ✂️ Partition Of India 🏛️ Colonial Legacies 📜 Longue DuréE History

India Wins Freedom

by Abul Kalam Azad • 1978

How the Congress leadership lost the fight for a united India: an insider's account.

4.21

1k+

🇮🇳 Indian Independence 💔 Partition Of India 🏛️ Secular Nationalism ☪️ Indian Muslims 🤝 Hindu-Muslim Unity

India Wins Freedom 92%

How the Congress leadership lost the fight for a united India: an insider's account.

by Abul Kalam Azad 1978

4.21

1k+ ratings

🇮🇳 Indian Independence 💔 Partition Of India 🏛️ Secular Nationalism ☪️ Indian Muslims 🤝 Hindu-Muslim Unity

Savarkar

by Vikram Sampath • 2021

A court cleared Savarkar of Gandhi's murder. History never did.

4.70

472

🚩 Hindu Nationalism 📖 Political Biography 🗺️ Partition Of India 🇮🇳 Anti-Colonial India ✊ Social Reform Movements

Savarkar 92%

A court cleared Savarkar of Gandhi's murder. History never did.

by Vikram Sampath 2021

4.70

472 ratings

🚩 Hindu Nationalism 📖 Political Biography 🗺️ Partition Of India 🇮🇳 Anti-Colonial India ✊ Social Reform Movements

Read Dangerously

by Azar Nafisi • 2022

Why reading a novel can be more dangerous to a regime than marching in the street.

4.04

2k+

📝 Literary Criticism 🗳️ Political Essays 📚 Book Censorship 📖 Reading And Resistance ⚠️ Authoritarian Critique

Read Dangerously 92%

Why reading a novel can be more dangerous to a regime than marching in the street.

by Azar Nafisi 2022

4.04

2k+ ratings

📝 Literary Criticism 🗳️ Political Essays 📚 Book Censorship 📖 Reading And Resistance ⚠️ Authoritarian Critique

Kashmir

by Tariq Ali • 2011

A 1947 promise of a vote. Sixty years of soldiers. Now a generation demands freedom with stones.

3.95

618

🧭 Kashmir Conflict 🗳️ South Asian Politics 🇮🇳 Partition Of India 🕊️ Self-Determination ⚠️ State Violence

Kashmir 92%

A 1947 promise of a vote. Sixty years of soldiers. Now a generation demands freedom with stones.

by Tariq Ali 2011

3.95

618 ratings

🧭 Kashmir Conflict 🗳️ South Asian Politics 🇮🇳 Partition Of India 🕊️ Self-Determination ⚠️ State Violence

Red Skin, White Masks

by Glen Sean Coulthard • 2014

State recognition is a colonial trap: real Indigenous freedom demands turning away from it entirely.

4.46

941

🌍 Settler Colonialism 🗳 Indigenous Politics 📖 Decolonial Theory 🌲 Land-Based Resistance 💰 Anti-Capitalism

Red Skin, White Masks 92%

State recognition is a colonial trap: real Indigenous freedom demands turning away from it entirely.

by Glen Sean Coulthard 2014

4.46

941 ratings

🌍 Settler Colonialism 🗳 Indigenous Politics 📖 Decolonial Theory 🌲 Land-Based Resistance 💰 Anti-Capitalism

India

by John Keay • 2000

One volume, five thousand years: the subcontinent from its first cities to its midnight partition.

3.93

4k+

🏛️ Civilizational History 📖 Narrative History 🌏 Cultural Crossroads 👑 Empire And Rule 🔄 Dynastic Cycles

India 92%

One volume, five thousand years: the subcontinent from its first cities to its midnight partition.

by John Keay 2000

3.93

4k+ ratings

🏛️ Civilizational History 📖 Narrative History 🌏 Cultural Crossroads 👑 Empire And Rule 🔄 Dynastic Cycles

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