India’s Struggle for Independence-the first and most reliable study of the country’s epic fight for freedom by some of India’s most authoritative historians-is an established classic.

Makers of Modern India presents rare and compelling excerpts from the writings and speeches of nineteen Indians whose ideas had a defining impact on the formation and evolution of our republic.

India since 1947 is the definitive guide to post-Independence India, covering a wide range of topics, from agriculture, law, archaeology and the arts to science and technology, sports and wars.

About the Authors

Bipan Chandra (1928-2014) was born in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. He was educated at Forman Christian College, Lahore, and at Stanford University, California. He was professor of modern history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, member of the University Grants Commission and chairman of the National Book Trust. He was a prolific writer, who founded the journal Enquiry and wrote several books on nationalism, colonialism and communalism in modern India.

Ramachandra Guha was born and raised in the Himalayan foothills. He studied in Delhi and Kolkata, and has lived for many years in Bengaluru. His many books include a pioneering environmental history, The Unquiet Woods; a landmark history of his country, India after Gandhi; and an authoritative biography of Mahatma Gandhi, both volumes of which were chosen by the New York Times as a Notable Book of the Year. Having previously taught at Oslo, Stanford and the London School of Economics, he is currently Distinguished University Professor at Krea University. Guha's awards include the Leopold-Hidy Prize of the American Society of Environmental History, the Howard Milton Award of the British Society for Sports History, and the Fukuoka Prize for contributions to Asian culture. He is the recipient of an honorary doctorate in the humanities from Yale University.

Gopa Sabharwal's career and interests have involved a multidimensional engagement with Indian society, be it through developing and directing India-focused television shows, fieldwork on ethnic identities in urban Karnataka or mapping the history of society.

In 1993, Gopa founded the department of sociology at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. She was a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at Chatham University, Pittsburgh (2006). From 2010 to 2016, she served as the founding vice chancellor of Nalanda University, establishing a twenty-first-century international university.

Her books include Ethnicity and Class: Social Divisions in an Indian City (2006), The Indian Millennium: A.D.1000-2000 (2000 and 2002) and some bestselling quiz books for Penguin. She lives in New Delhi.