Unlike the previous editions which had a lot of information crowding it — we wanted the new cover to be simple, bold and easily understood at first glance. Additionally, the use of circular elements (the charkha for pre-independent India) and the chakra (for post-independent India) — allowed us to connect the two covers in a strong manner.
Brief: Both books — India’s Struggle for Independence and India Since Independence are being rejacketed in time for Independence Day. The two books should have a similar look, focusing on the idea of India. These are political and economic overviews of India, historically detailed and accessible to academics and the general public. To differentiate between these and the earlier jackets, maybe these can be typographically stronger and the look can be generally cleaner.
Title: India's Struggle for Independence
Author: Bipan Chandra, Mridula Mukherjee, Aditya Mukherjee, Sucheta Mahajan and K.N. Panikkar
Page Extent: 600pp.
Format: Demy
Binding: PB
Imprint: Penguin
Pub Month: August 2017
Category: Nonfiction
E-book Rights: Y
Territory / Rights: World
Price: Rs 399
Target Audience / Positioning: Non-fiction / history
Comparable Books: The Ramachandra Guha books
This is a study of India's independence movement, from an abortive revolt against the British in 1857 through the times which eventually lead to Indian Independence in 1947 seen from the Indian point of view. The book is based on primary sources, hundreds of interviews with those who took part in the struggle for freedom, and presents new information on the formation of the Indian National Congress and the British response to various uprisings. It also examines the personalities and influence of the leaders of the time and evolves a new and coherent view of the history of the period.
Title: India Since Independence
Author: Bipan Chandra, Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee
Page Extent: 792pp.
Format: Demy
Binding: PB
Imprint: Penguin
Pub Month: August 2017
Category: Nonfiction
E-book Rights: Y
Territory / Rights: World
Price: Rs 450
Target Audience / Positioning: Non-fiction / history
Comparable Books: The Ramachandra Guha books
A thorough and incisive introduction to contemporary India. The story of the forging of India, the world's largest democracy, is a rich and inspiring one. This volume, a sequel to the bestselling India's Struggle for Independence, analyses the challenges India has faced and the successes it has achieved, in the light of its colonial legacy and century-long struggle for freedom. The book describes how the Constitution was framed, as also how the Nehruvian political and economic agenda and basics of foreign policy were evolved and developed. It dwells on the consolidation of the nation, examining contentious issues like party politics in the Centre and the states, the Punjab problem, and anti-caste politics and untouchability. This revised edition offers a scathing analysis of the growth of communalism in India and the use of state power in furthering its cause. It also documents the fall of the National Democratic Alliance in the 2004 General Elections, the United Progressive Alliance's subsequent rise to power and the Indo-US Nuclear Deal that served to unravel the political consensus at the centre. Apart from detailed analyses of Indian economic reforms since 1991 and wide-ranging land reforms and the Green Revolution, this new edition includes an overview of the Indian economy in the new millennium. These, along with objective assessments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, constitute a remarkable overview of a nation on the move.
