Thursday, November 14, 2019

आधुनिक भारत हिस्टोरियोग्राफी पर निबंध संग्रह

अगस्त 25, 2019, को Essays on Modern India पत्रक में यह सन्देश प्रकाशित हुया था कि उस में चर्चित पुस्तक का हिंदी प्ररूप जल्द ही प्रकाशित किया जायेगा| उसी सन्देश की बात को सत्य करते हुए यहाँ उस हिंदी में लिखी पुस्तक की प्रकाशित होने की सूचना प्रसारित की गई है|





आधुनिक भारत हिस्टोरियोग्राफी पर निबंध संग्रह पुस्तक Essays on Modern India पुस्तक का हिंदी प्ररूप है| इस में पांच अध्याय हैं जो कि इस प्रकार हैं|

1. अध्याय 1: आधुनिक भारत की ऐतिहासिकता - एक परिचय

2. अध्याय 2: आधुनिक भारत के साम्राज्यवादी इतिहासकार


3. अध्याय 3: आधुनिक भारत के राष्ट्रवादी इतिहासकार


4. अध्याय 4: आधुनिक भारत के मार्क्सवादी इतिहासकार


5. अध्याय 5: भारत में उपनिवेशवाद पर इतिहास लेखन


6. ग्रंथ सूची


इस पुस्तक को Kindle Create के नवीनतम रूप Version 1.33.3.0 पर सम्पादित किया गया है| इस पुस्तक की पाण्डुलिपि को UTF – 8 में Google Input tools से लिखा गया है| यह उम्मीद की जाती है कि छात्रों एवं अन्य पाठकों को Kindle eBook के सभी softwares पर पढ़ने में आसानी होगी|


पाठकों से निवेदन है कि पुस्तक पर टिप्पणी amazon की site पर पुस्तक के पृष्ठ पर दर्ज करें|

Catalogue of the Books writtenby Sumir Sharma


Sunday, November 3, 2019

The Reason For Not Posting Any New Post For Long on this Blog


I have not stopped reading.

I have not stopped writing.

I have not remained away from this blog. I had watched it regularly.

I have not stopped blogging.

I have read new books during the period of absence from this blog. I consider reading and writing complementary to each other. I have written a post on my Author Platform on this aspect.

When I read a book, I always write on it in my diaries. It is another thing that after migrating to the Kindle reader, I have been writing in the note section of the Kindle. However, that cannot be called writing. I write private notes on whatsoever I read. It is a rule, but sometimes, I do not maintain my practice. However, I have observed that making small notes on Kindle is also a way of writing. The act of writing annotations is one part of writing and growth of understanding. Many self-improvement writers have suggested the methods of creating tags while reading. It is a practice which is followed by highly placed executives, lawyers, journalists, judges, scientists and others. In short, I am still writing. I have not posted any article for long on this blog. But I read and write during this period. I have already revealed in the previous paragraph that I have written on my other blog, which is titled "Author Page of Sumir Sharma". No doubt, I have started a new blog, and it is one of the reasons that I have remained away from this blog.


I want to reiterate one thing. I have remained sincere to my basic norm and ethic. I read, and I wrote. I would like to emphasis one aspect on this norm of reading and writing as one thing having two inseparable sites. There was a paradigm shift during this period. Let me share it here.

I have reviewed many books on self-improvement on this blog. Among many readers, there is a doubt about the efficacy and utility of such titles. It is a different issue. I would instead like to move to the point which I desire to make here. While living the course of synchronizing reading and writing, I have already emerged as a self-publishing author. A self-publishing author has to perform multiple tasks on his own even if he or she takes up the help of the supporting expertise of others. Borrowing a message of an editor, who herself is a self-publishing authoress, I found that such authors have to perform a work of a CEO of a company. They have to attend to the work of production, which is their first role, then, they do the publishing, then the marketing and the finance involved in all these activities and finally no doubt, the actual profit made out of all that.

On being emerging as a self-publishing author, the content of my reading also underwent a shift. I collected and read books on writing methods, writing skills, marketing of the books and related issue. During the course of such a reading activity, I would like to mention the titles of Derek Doepker who wrote “Why Authors Fail – 17 Mistakes Self-published Authors Make That Sabotage Their Success And How to Fix Them”; “Writing A Book A Week”, by Alex Foster, “How I Sold 80,000 Books, Book Marketing for Authors” by Alinka Rutkowska and many other related books and supporting self-improvements. I have not written any review on them. However, the reading of those books had left deep scratches on my brain, which influenced my vision of raising myself as a self-publishing author. There were many suggestions, a bundle of information, tonnes of data and different facts. I was able to appreciate many things written in those books.

 I believe I am not capable or grown enough to value some of the suggestions. Some of the advice, I think are not practicable for me in India where I live. However, a quantum of impact was there. I developed an understanding that as a writer, I must connect to readers through different media apart from the contents of my book. The aspiration of writing a perfect novel which entraps the attention of the whole world is an idea which is a delusion. If one can write a book, that thing is in itself an excellent thing to do. If the book is read even by a half a dozen readers who are not known to you, then you are a success. On Amazon and through Kindle, your book is at least open by the members of Kindle Unlimited. Even if, that happens, then as a writer, you are a success.

From the churning of words done by other authors on marketing, I picked the suggestion of connecting to readers apart from your book. There are numerous methods which are being suggested. Blogging is one of that. One of the tips is to develop an Author Page or Author Platform. If it is the message in the suggestion, and if I have understood it rightly, then It was what I did in-between.  I created two blogs instead. They are as follows.



The blog Author Page is a general blog. Herein, the author talks to the reader about the topics relating to writing, writing skills, the methods of writing and related issue.

The Platform of Golden Kit is for a specific book of the author. In the blog, the author discusses the content of the book and issues related to the activity.

During these developments, I have derived some conclusions. They may interest many.

I have learned that the Self-Improvement books are not an inferior form of literature as some readers and discussions on this genre suggest. The style of Self-Improvement books in the genre of Non-fictional literature is a substantial cerebral activity. It relates to your present-day life. It provides solutions to the issues and problems which are real.

The second observation is that blogging is not a redundant thing. Twitter, Facebook, Youtube are the present-day buzz word. They have created a lot of commotion and blogging is sidelined in the din which has been raised. The activity has an intrinsic strength which would ensure its continuity. It is a meaningful activity which has its value. Too many people have ridden the waves of the cyber sea and raising a noise of their underdeveloped brains. Thumping the keypad with thumbs are far less productive than using all the fingers on the keyboard. The input methods may change, but the discourse which can be given through blogging is far ahead than the rest of the mediums. Even on Youtube, an over voice is needed. A stream of visuals may not be liked for long.

As far as the writers and readers are concerned, blogging can be an excellent platform to interact.

All such thoughts, readings, writings and activities are the reason behind my absence from this blog. I am here, and I will continue to post on this blog.


Sunday, August 25, 2019

A Combo Volume of The History of Constitution of India: The Charter Acts during the Company rule in India 1773 - 1858










A Combo Volume of The History of Constitution of India: The Charter Acts during the Company rule in India 1773 - 1858


यह पुस्तक नई पुस्तक नहीं है| यह पुस्तक मेरी पहली पुस्तकों का संयुक्त प्रकाशन है| इस पुस्तक में मेरी पहले से ही उपलब्ध दो पुस्तकों का सम्पादित संकलन है| इस संकलन में दो पुस्तकें इस प्रकार हैं|


History of Constitution of India: Charter Acts during the Company rule in India 1773 – 1858| यह पुस्तक अंग्रेज़ी में लिखी हुई है| इस का ASIN B07DFR9KD3 है| इस पुस्तक का paperback भी उपलब्ध है|


भारत के संविधान का इतिहास: भारत में कंपनी शासन के समय के चार्टर अधिनियम 1773 – 1858”, ASIN no B07FN71L62 दूसरी पुस्तक है| यह पुस्तक हिंदी में है|

दोनों पुस्तकों का विषयवस्तु एक ही है| परन्तु यह दोनों पुस्तकें एक दूसरे का अनुवाद नहीं है|

इस प्रकार के संकलन को उपलब्ध करने का एक आधार है| भारत में छात्र हिंदी में वार्तालाप करतें हैं परन्तु उन को अपने विषय के संबंध में विषय सामग्री अंग्रेज़ी साहित्य में ज्यादा उपलब्ध रहती है| इसी के साथ ही उन को कई परीक्षायों में अंग्रेज़ी का ही प्रयोग करना होता है| कहीं ना कहीं उन को अंग्रेज़ी साहित्य में वह स्पष्टता नहीं मिल पाती जिस की उन्हें आवश्यकता होती है| अगर वही बात उन्हें हिंदी में भी पता चल जाये तो उन का विषय का बोध और उस पर पकड़ गहरी हो जाती है| इसी विचार और आधार पर इस संयुक्त संकलन को उपलब्ध कराया गया है|

इस में आप को एक पुस्तक में दो पुस्तकें उपलब्ध कराई गई हैं|



Essays on Modern India Historiography






The Essays on Modern India Historiography is my latest book. Nitish Sachdeva is a co-author of the book.

The contains five essays. The titles of those essays are as follows.

Chapter 1: Historiography of Modern India – An Introduction

Chapter 2: Imperialist Historians of Modern India

Chapter 3: Nationalist Historians of Modern India

Chapter 4: Marxists Historians of Modern India

Chapter 5: Historiography of Colonialism in India

Bibliography

There is a story behind writing the book. Nitish Sachdeva was my student. He pursued M. A. History course in my college. The college is affiliated to Punjab University Chandigarh. In the syllabus of History in the Punjab University, there is no course at undergraduate level which covers the historiography. Even in postgraduate courses, it was a single phrase of Historiography was related to the papers which form the part of the course. In the fourth semester of postgraduate studies, there are two papers related to historiography and methods of history. It was during one of the lectures, Nitish Sachdeva expressed the view that the nature of the paper was such that it should have been taught even in undergraduate classes. After that, he undertook a survey of the history courses of many universities and came back with the observation that there were many universities in which historiography was taught as a separate paper. Secondly, he expressed the view that such a paper was essential to learn about the actual nature of history. The view of Nitish Sachdeva is the foundation of the book. The view is further elaborated in the preface of the book.

The book is published in paperback format also. The ISBN is 13: 978-1085882729.

The Hindi version of the book will also be released very soon.

You are requested to read the preview by clicking here

Do me a favour by writing your response in the comment section at Amazon site of the book. 

Thursday, July 11, 2019

The Enigma of Pakistani Identity by Haroon Khalid

The Enigma of Pakistani Identity by Haroon Khalid




It is a travelogue but not in the real sense.

For me, it is a kick in the chest pit of a Pakistani nationalist which could be fatal. The book is a punch below the nose of an Indian nationalist which could be life-threatening, a spit at the face of a British nationalist and a reverberating slap on the face of the academicians at school and higher education stages who decide the syllabus of National history, political science and sociology.

In order to understand the content of this small book, one should know that history is very harsh, rude and blunt if one is a serious learner. Secondly, as per the new trends of history, Folklores are also the archives for historians. If one is a traditional historian who believes only in written words and documents, then it is an opinion of a young Pakistani who is probably from a village near to the village of Ranjha at Takht Hazara. The author has his education in Archaeology from a university in Pakistan.  For a superficial reviewer of this book at Amazon site from where I have bought this book for a pittance as a Prime Member, it is a useless book which merely refers to some places in Pakistan but does not provide any useful information. It depends upon the intellectual level of a reader to treat it as per his or her learning level.

The overall length of the book is not more than 15 to 18 odd A4 size typed pages. However, it is developed into nine chapters. The book is published in India by Westland Publications Ltd in 2017, which probably is the same publication which made Savi Sharma a best-selling author.

The content of the book will tease and tantalise the readers from both sides of the Redcliff line differently. The language is lucid. It is only at one place the syntax of a sentence is a bit confusing. The line is reproduced below.
“Out of all of the provinces of the country, it is Punjab has experienced the greatest Islamization after the creation of the country.” Haroon Khalid. The Enigma of Pakistani Identity (Kindle Locations 418-419). Westland Publications Ltd. Kindle Edition.
In the rest of the book, the flow of the narrative is very smooth, and one can read it in less than one hour. This book is strongly recommended to the Indian readers provided they have a good understanding of Indian culture and history. The reader has to overlook the bias of the author in some places. It will be of interest if this book is available in Pakistan also.

The author of this book has also published other books. The author is available on Facebook.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Sometimes you flaunt your report card






I am highly thankful to my readers from India and the USA. 

I am waiting for their reviews on Amazon from where they bought or downloaded the books. I am ready to see one star and a complete thrashing and bashing of the quality of my writing. 

Thanks once again, 

Sumir

Friday, January 18, 2019

Methods to Publish a Hindi Book as an eBook on Kindle

मेरी  पुस्तक

"हिंदी में लिखी पुस्तक को स्वयं प्रकाशित करने की सुनहरी किताब"


हिंदी  में  लिखे  Manuscript को  eBook के  रूप  में  Amazon  पर  बेचने  की  विधि  पर है |  इस का  Thumbnail URL आगे  दिया  गया  है | 




सवि शर्मा और अमिश त्रिपाठी हाल के  ऐसे दो सफल और मक्बूल लेखक  हैं  जिन्होंने अपने लेखन का  प्रकाशन स्वयं प्रकाशन से शुरू किया|

Amazon पांच भारतीय भाषों में प्रकाशन करती है | Amazon हिंदी, गुजराती, मराठी, मलयालम और  तमिल में लिखी पुस्तकों का प्रकाशन KDP के माध्यम से करती है |

Amazon ने पहले  किताबों को ही  बेचने से अपना  व्यापर शुरू किया था | 2007 से Amazon ने Kindle नाम का E Reader और KDP शुरू किया था | Creative Space की साहयक Company से Amazon पेपरबैक भी छपता था  परन्तु  2018 में उस का काम KDP को दे दिया था | 

2015 में Amazon ने Kindle Create Software प्रस्तुत किया था |  2016 से Amazon ने भारतीय भाषों में भी मुद्रण शुरू कर दिया था | मुझे इस का पता 2017 में लगा और उसी साल मैंने Amazon पर अपनी पहली पुस्तक प्रकाशित की थी | उस पुस्तक का शीर्षक है "एक कहानी कुछ कवितायें "| वह पुस्तक मूल रूप में एक experiment था | उसी समय से मैंने यह देखा की KDP पर मुद्रण के बहुत से पहलू हैं | उन सब पर जानकारी KDP की Website पर दे रखी है परन्तु वह छे यूरोपीय भाषों में है| अगर किसी पहलू पर अगर स्पष्टता लेनी हो तो KDP केवल यूरोपीय भाषों में ही पत्राचार करने को तैयार थी | 


मैंने यह भी देखा की कई लेखकों  ने Kindle पर मुद्रण की विधि पर अंग्रेज़ी में पुस्तकें छापी हुई हैं | परन्तु ऐसी  कोई पुस्तक  सामने नहीं आई जो हिंदी में मुद्रण करने वालों के लिए हिंदी में लिखी हो| यह तथ्य  2017 मेरे सामने था | मैंने ऐसी पुस्तक खुद लिखने की तैयारी कर ली | परन्तु ऐसा करते ही मैं इस मुश्किल में पड़ गया कि  ऐसी पुस्तक की रूपरेखा कैसी होगी | उस के लिए कैसा मंथन हुया उसे एक तरफ रखते हुए मैंने प्रतुत रूप में इस पुस्तक की रचना की है | 

पुस्तक  में 15 अध्याय और लेखक का  पत्र  है | 






Sunday, June 3, 2018

Bad Formatting has ruined the book.




 The lousy formatting has ruined the book.

Kindly note that the Hindi version of this book is live. It is available at the link https://amzn.to/2moSmkk 
The ASIN no is B07FN71L62. 

The statement is a comment on the book by Sumir Sharma, the author of this blog. The title of the book is “History of Constitution of India: Charter Acts and Company Rule in India”.

First, let us see the contents of the book.

It has eight chapters and two Appendix. They are as follows.
Chapter 1: The Brief History of the East India Company.
Chapter 2: The Regulating Act, 1773
Chapter 3: Pitt’s India Act, 1784
Chapter 4: Charter Act, 1793
Chapter 5: Charter Act, 1813
Chapter 6: Charter Act, 1833
Chapter 7: Charter Act, 1853
Chapter 8: Act of Better Government of India 1858

The book contains 78 printed pages of A4 size. However, it is presently available in ebook format. 

There are two Appendix. In Appendix I, there is an essay on the sources which are used for writing the contents of this book. In Appendix II, the suggestions are provided to make the book more interactive.

The book is developed as a textbook. It is written in a narrative style. On every topic, the content is written in point format. For the point format, it is meant that every paragraph explains its main heading. The paragraph is given a heading or a number. It helps in writing the answers in the examination. The purpose is that the readers and the students can quickly develop an answer to any question on the topics explained in the book.

When it is said that it is written in a narrative style, it means that the facts are given and explained. There is a less number of quotations and references to the document. It is a textbook which aims at helping the students to write an answer with confidence. Such a style of writing helps the student to focus on the core fact which is expected to be written. The author believes that first provide the fact. If the student reproduces the fact, then he or she explains the question. The quotations and references are an inseparable part of history writing. However, liberty is taken while framing the content and this aspect is omitted. It is called a narrative style by the author.

The book is written to fulfil the requirements of the students of the Post Graduate course in History of Punjab University. It meets the need of the Paper HIS 213: Constitutional Development in Modern India 1773 – 1947 Unit I and Paper HIS 211: Modern India Political Process, Unit III.

The content of the book is also relevant to the students of Indian Polity and Indian Constitution pursuing the course of Post Graduate in Political Science. It is also suitable for the students of Law course.

The content of the book is equally relevant to General Studies Main paper II. The content provides material for the first section which reads, “Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution …”

The book is also relevant for undergraduate classes honours course.

There is a need to mention the framework of the first chapter which is "The Brief History of the East India Company". In most of the popular textbooks, this topic is explained. In almost all the books, the story begins with the arrival of Portuguese in India. Many writers have started with earliest times of European history. In the case of this book, the chapter begins with the fundamental question. It has tried to answer that what made England organise a commercial corporation to trade with East Indies. It is followed by a brief survey of the ups and downs of the company up to 1773.

Now, something about the title of this post which is that "Bad formatting has ruined the book". The book is self-published by the author with Kindle Direct Publication. The KDP provides the software to format the manuscript for the book. The author has failed to make the right use of the software.

Further, there are many mistakes in the use of punctuation marks. In addition to that two or three lines are repeated at some places. This mistake has crept in due to the writing method of the author. The author generally writes his manuscript in Open Source Word processor. Then, he transfers it to MS word sheet. The reason is that KDP software gets added to MS Word as an add-on feature. The author also uses a grammar check software. Therefore, after writing an essay is shuttled between different software to make it readable. In this process, such a fault sneaks in.

In any case, the author plans to retain this book out on the sale on Amazon. It may help other self- publisher writers to watch for the shortcomings. Presently, I am not going to revise this book. However, I will rewrite it after a duration, and then I will remove the mistakes.

The book explains the Charter Acts as the historical background of the History of the Constitution of India. It is evident that my next volume will be on the legislation during the Crown rule in India. I will soon publish the relevant next volume. I am presently working on that volume.

I will also write the Hindi version of this volume and release it in June 2018.

To make this book interactive, I am going to reproduce a part of the book on my blog at undergraduatehistory.blogspot.in. I will attend to their queries related to the content of the book. I am ready to provide pdf copies of individual chapters to any reader free of cost who may require it for printing purpose. The relevant instructions are given in Appendix II.



An Update: The Book is now available in Print format also. However, it is available only in the USA, the UK, Demark, Spain, Italy and Japan. For Indians, it will cost too high. Kindly avail the epub format. If any page is required in printable format then kindly email me as instructed in Appendix II of the book. The ISBN number of the printed book is as follows: ISBN-13: 978-1983046834 ISBN-10: 1983046833

Second Update: The Paperback of the book is now available in India also. However, it is printed in the US and imported by Indian distributors. Therefore, the price is too high. It costs ₹565/- including taxes and courier charges. The link is given as follows:


Third update: The book has been reformatted. Kindly read the preview here. Do a favour by writing a comment on the Amazon page of this book and give a ranking.


 Advertisements: Use Discretion

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Sri Harsha of Kanauj - A monograph on the history of India in the first half of the 7th century AD. by K. M. Panikkar.



Before I write anything about this book, I want to share my dilemma. I am a teacher of history at a college level. I am expected to teach according to the requirement of a syllabus. However, by experience, I have found that the understanding which I am developing through regular reading revolts against the central ideas of the curriculum.

Secondly, there are many aspects of history and especially of Indian History, which I believe the country learns from the textbooks. By now, textbooks have developed into a compilation of some points and narratives which could be easily reproduced by the students to pass the course which they are pursuing at University level. It does not serve any purpose.

Thirdly, there is a general notion and view among the teachers that the history or for that matter any subject should be made easy for the students. What does that mean? If you understand and have thoroughly imbibed the concept, then you may demonstrate it in numerous ways. The Make it Easy brigade have obtained doctorates in their subjects. They might have gone through the rigour of the research methods. They might have attained a perception about their thesis which could only be obtained by hard work. Therefore, they were awarded the doctorate. Now, what do they say when they want to make a subject easy for the students? No doubt, they are not expected to train the students to become the research scholars. But, what do they mean to say to make a subject easy to understand? In this efforts, they are more inclined towards the textbooks.

While reading textbooks also, one come across gaps in the interpretations and explanations of the historical facts. I had felt this shortcoming when after learning about the Gupta dynasty, there was a sudden decline in the Indian history. In between, a period of Harsha emerges. In that period, the region was saved from the attack of the Huns. Harsha organised five-yearly religious festivals in which he propitiated Buddha idol along with other deities. However, after his reign, the Buddhism virtually died out in India. Now, why was it so? I have some clues about the answers, but there are many issues which are to be told in more clearer manner. History is about the nation, a region, and positively about the 'We the People' with which the constitution begins. But, what is the history of 'We the People'?.

Fourthly, the four-unit format had made many chapters redundant. The chapter on Harshvardhan is mostly included in the fourth unit. As a result, no one care to read much about that. There is nothing much to learn in the textbooks, especially in the format in which they are coming up – the so-called easier way of learning.

Fifthly, there is too much stress on regionalism. The main argument or rather the dominant answer by some pundits is that if you do not write about your region, then no one will come from outside to write for you. If you do not write about the history of your region, then no one from other regions will come to write it for you. You are the right source and medium to write about your region, and therefore you have to write about the region. Is India a Union of States or the United States? I do not want the people from Political Science to answer this question. They are living in a world of fallacy and before answering anyone that they should check that why their subject has carried the term Science with it. I may like to read a journalist if I am given a choice.

Now when I came across a monograph on Harsh Vardhan, it was an obvious choice. It was another incentive to learn about K. M. Panikkar. Therefore, I am writing about it with high expectations.

The book was published by D. B. Taraporevala Sons & Co. Bombay( a publishing division of TATA sons in those days- not a listed company), in 1922.

It contains seven chapters including the Conclusion. A more detailed description follows.

Sardar KM Panikkar:

An ardent need is felt to emphasis that K. M. Panikkar, the author had expired in 1963. He was not a Marxist Historian (He defies all the favourite brands of the day.) and should not be identified with a Marxist historian with the similar surname and resembling initials. It was another thing that his daughter was married to a Communist leader. The other Panikkar is a Marxist historian who has generally associated himself with Bipin Chandra group apart from producing his individual works. Sardar K. M. Panikkar was an outright nationalist from South India. As a historian, as he had written in Atam Katha, that the Hinduism was the result of the fusion of Arya and Dravid which remained solid and unscratched under the onslaught of Muslim and European culture or Islam and Christianity. The fusion version of the age-old process which is presently comfortably called Hindu, merely made adjustments and arrangements in the field of society, economy and politics while facing the historical forces. The Marxist K. N. Panikkar would never approve of this theory and its working reality.

The Content of the Monograph:

The author has called it a Monograph. He has not used the phrases like A short history or A sixty minutes history and similar terms which are now becoming more popular.

There are 96 pages in the printed book. The content; the printed material on Shri Harsh Vardhan is spread over 82 pages. As already mentioned, there are seven essays. Six essays are related to Shri Harsh Vardhan. The name of the articles are as follows:

1. The Political Condition of India in the 6th century. 
2. The Political Condition of the Reign of Harsh. 
3. Harsh – the King. 
4. The Social Condition of India in Harsha's Time 
5. Harsh – the Poet. 
Conclusion.

The author has acknowledged with great emphasis that the contents of the fifth essay which is Harsh, the poet, is based on the material provided by Pandit Sastry A. D. Harisarma of Cochin.

Bibliography Essay – The Seventh Essay:

It also contains a bibliography essay. In the bibliography essay the author has discussed the two major primary sources; namely, Harishcharitra by Bana and Yuan Chwang Travels translated by Watter. It is pertinent to observe here, that the New Cambridge history started their publication from 1922 onwards. It is a feature of the New Cambridge publication which the author of each book gives an elaborate essay on the sources used to write his work. In such articles, nearly all the types of sources like primary sources, secondary sources, interviews, journals and other sources are discussed. In case of the essay by K. M. Panikkar, the author has considered only two primary sources. He has given references to numerous other sources, and many of them are primary sources, which are shown at the appropriate places in Footnotes. The essay is exclusively devoted to the two primary sources, which are the main focal point of seeking the information.

K. M. Pannikar started his carrier as a teacher of history. He left that job in between and worked for the Princely States in different capacities. After independence, he accepted the position of a diplomat. He ended his career as an academician. During this period, he wrote many researched based works. The historians, especially the university level scholars, had evaluated him differently. However, if one undertakes an independent evaluation of his work, there is every possibility that the fresh observer may not reconcile with the observations of the experts. His writings may sound as biased and tilted towards Hinduism. However, his scientific temperament is equally apparent in his work. The branded historians are not ready to accept his views probably because they dismantled their strongly held observations. On the reverse side, the writings of Pannikar reveal the gaps in the writing of history. In this work on Harsha, this conflict and debate are apparent.

After completing the reading of this book, I have read a book on the historiography of K. M. Panikkar by Tarasankar Banerjee. The title of the book is "Sardar K. M. Panikkar - The Profile of a Historian."

Tarasankar Banerjee has written some observations on the writing of K. M. Pannikar as a historian. I have found the following views of Tarasankar Banerjee quite relevant for the book on Harsha Vardhan. They are given below.

Observation One

Panikkar approach to history is not based on a technician's outlook but based on an appreciative and refreshing mind of an idealist and imaginative scholar to whom history was an art and not simply an autopsy of the past. (Sardar Panikkar historiography pp.17)

Observation Two

In the more simpler terms, it has been said of the author in an earlier referred source that Panikkar had a passionately sympathetic and imaginative mind. This very aspect of his analytic mind is depicted in his work on Sri Harsha of Kanauj.

Observation Three

He wanted to impress upon us is that the compartmentalisation of Indian History tinged with a narrow regional feeling may have a disastrous consequence on the basic unity of Indian culture. (pp 113, Sardar K M Panikkar).



Attention: Advertisements




Thursday, March 22, 2018

Dial D for Don – Inside Stories of CBI Missions by Neeraj Kumar



Neeraj Kumar I.P.S., the commissioner of police and Nirbhaya Incidence of December 16, 2012, may help many readers to identify the person who is an author of the book which is named "Dial D for Don – Inside Stories of CBI Missions".

The actual nature, quality and standard of the content of the book is well described by Suhel Seth in a comment given in the description of the book on the Amazon.

If a reader is interested in a more straightforward comment on the book, then the remarks of Ravi Shastri emphasises the entertainment factor of the book available where the previous remark appears.

Both the above-mentioned observations are provided in the Amazon portal itself at the selling page of the book. These are also included at the beginning of the book within the overall body of the content of the book.

The print length of the book is 297 pages for English edition. It was published by Penguin Random House India in 2015.

At the time of writing this commentary, there were 82 comments on Amazon portal on this book with the 4.2-star rating out of five. The remarks itself are fascinating reading. For any ardent reader of good literature and especially non-fictional works, it can be a learning course to evaluate the nature of the comments which a work obtain if it is actually substantial and useful work. Those who have given 1 star, their names are not revealed. But, their comments itself become intriguing. If a reader has an understanding of the inside stories of the power centres and people with higher authorities, then one may just smile at the thoughts of the jealous people who can be behind those comments. Secondly, as per the record of the Amazon, they have purchased the book. They have virtually foot the bill of the coffee which the writer might have consumed while writing the book. They are really quite generous in their act but unnecessarily exposed a baser side of their existence.

S. Hussain Zaidi's Role in making the book.
S. Hussain Zaidi, a more established author of the crime thriller non-fictional works, has played a role in bringing out this book. He had sought the help of Neeraj Kuma I.P.S. in his activities of promoting his new release and observed that the person whom he had involved was equally a prospective writer. It goes to the credit of Zaidi to introduce Neeraj Kumar I.P. S. to Penguin publisher as a potential writer without caring to create competition for himself in his own field. Zaidi earns the praise of his readers for this role for acting most unselfishly. It is duly acknowledged by Neeraj Kumar I.P.S in the preface of his book.

In the preface of the book, the author Kumar recollected that he found faults with the book by Zaidi. The book in question was Byculla to Bangkok by Zaidi which I have already discussed on this blog. I have expressed some dissatisfaction with the content of the text and the writing style of Zaidi. I believe that Kumar had used his 'punches' on those very points. As a reader of Zaidi, I have found the work of Kumar is definitely a couple of levels above than that of Zaidi. Zaidi, being a person with journalist background and success with his book and Bollywood, writes for the producers of the Bollywood more than for the readers. I have pointed out that feature in my reviews of his book. Kumar has written a true non-fictional work with a better quality of literature. His work will definitely remain a reference work in the field of academics regardless of the caution which the writer has used in revealing the documentary proofs. Zaidi's work will also remain important because his work was readily picked by Bollywood and secondly he had trodden into an unchartered territory which the Indian intellectual field had not explored in Independent India. It will not be a surprise if tomorrow the people learn that some Bollywood movies are produced using the contents of the work of Neeraj Kumar I.P.S.

Neeraj Kumar is an alumnus of St. Stephenson's College of Delhi University. The author has made his alma matter proud by adding a new feather in his cap by contributing to the literature.

Neeraj Kumar I.P.S claimed that he was a reluctant writer. He expressed some apprehension about the purpose of such a writing. He knew that the ex-officers from different cadres had been writing about their memoirs. He was also apprehensive about the response of the readers. It is a general feeling among every writer when the writer ventures to write something for the audience.

Writing is not a simple exercise. Neeraj Kumar I.P.S has shown the quality of his calibre by taking up this task but defining the sphere of his work by himself. One can not dictate him, and that is the message. The publisher had approached him to write his memoirs. However, analytic and professional training guided him to frame the nature of the task himself. Probably, as an ex-officer, he was not accustomed to receiving assignments. He had lived his life by allocating and directing people to perform the tasks. So how can a publisher dictate him to deliver a pre-defined task? If an assignment has to be achieved, it was to be decided by him. He decided the contours of the assignment. He did exactly that. He did not write his memoirs. However, he decided to perform a task. He decided to write accounts of police operations in which he participated during his tenure in the CBI. Thus, this book was framed and written. He had selected 11 episodes from the repertory of his professional experience. He had exercised his discretion in choosing the cases. However, he had not shared the rationale behind picking the specific cases. No doubt, all of them are somewhere associated with underworld with a single person bossing over it except one. There was one episode which was not associated with the underworld. It was related to Punjab and its separatist movement. However, if we change the fulcrum of the set, then, the selection was somewhere guided by the interference of a neighbouring country in India. Such an angle of the collection of the episodes might have caused some dissatisfaction with some readers. Some of the comments in the review section of Amazon are about the naming of the title as well as the formatting of the title. The silhouette of Dawood Ibrahim is too prominent along with other people from the underworld. That might have been the cause of the dissatisfaction among such commentators.

On the whole, the book is envisaged, decided and framed by the author himself. While writing, Neeraj Kumar did not make it a casual affair. His senior, Raja Vijay Karan, who had written the forward to this book, showed great administration for the ability of the writer to write everything from his memory. However, the writer had done some extra work to make his work meaningful and useful as a work of cerebral activity. He has provided some exclusive photographs which are not probably available elsewhere. He had sought the help of diagrams and illustrations which are work of a professional. Raja Vijay Karan had remarked that Neeraj wrote out of his memory. However, within the book, the writer had mentioned that he was quite possessive of his laptop and fiddle with it regularly. The laptops were made available during the tenure of Joginder Singh IPS. Rest can be guessed. 

The content of the book.

There are 11 episodes or cases which the author has selected.

His writing is too gripping and smooth that you glide through them without interruption. Some people have pointed out that he has written tough English. It is an amusing comment. If one reads it on the Kindle, then there is no issue of facing the problem of comprehending of any unusual word or term. A dictionary is built in. A mere click on an unfamiliar word will give a pop up with a meaning. All such words, when provided with a general sense, get fitted in the general narration that one may not face disruption in comprehending the whole scene. 

The writer has remarked that it is his first attempt. If it is the first attempt, then it has already crossed the highest level of perfection. The scenarios and milieus are created like an expert. The human feelings pull and pressures, angst and happiness on success are so correctly displayed through the words that it qualifies for the position of a masterpiece. The person is an alumnus of St. Stephen's College and held the highest post in the power echelons. The amount of drafting and reporting which he had done during his service, the varied experience at UN level and interaction with officers from different fields, culture, countries and professionals had already honed up his skills of writing. The issue before him was to address an equally varied panorama of readers. Every writer has this fear. He had the same. But, he had accomplished the task with perfection.


The forward is written by Raja Vijay Karan. The writer of the book definitely had a great admiration for the senior officer. Therefore, the author had invited him to embellish his work. The writer of the forward definitely provided a tone to the whole work. He had penned a glimpse of the constraints under which Neeraj Kumar, the author, had accomplished his task. He had also suggested in a hidden manner those hurdles in the system and jealousies of his colleagues which Neeraj Kumar had encountered during his service. Later, in chapter 8, the unmasking of Romesh Sharma and then in the last episode, Tracing of MK, the writer himself had shared all the turbulences and pains. It seems that he has taken his revenge in a very discreet manner by producing this work. Somewhere, it seems, that those who were behind the one-star marking, were actually such people.

However, one of the remarks by Raja Vijay Karan was very startling. He had called some of the underworld criminals as legendary. It is quite amusing if the police officer is rating them like this or is it a tongue in cheek remark? Probably, it is so, and the targets are someone else.

Raja Vijay Karan had also tackled the issue of a Caged Parrot and CBI. It seems as if he was rejoicing in the work of Neeraj Kumar and felt the satisfaction that the credibility and reputation of CBI had been salvaged by the writings and works of Neeraj Kumar. The jobs pulled out by Neeraj Kumar were definitely worth appreciating as they had long-term repercussions for the future diplomatic relations of the country regardless of the people who would frame the foreign policy of the nation.

Raja Vijay Karan remembered in great administration the work done by Neeraj Kumar in Prison reforms and making the police department more accessible to people through the use of the virtual world.

Raja Vijay Karan also emphasised the significance of police work for social and political policies of the government about maintaining the communal harmony.

Neeraj Kumar began with the preface. The plot of the book as framed by the author himself is already mentioned above. However, the preface is vital for learning about the working of CBI from a person who had worked in the department.

In the episode on Aftab Ansari, Neeraj Kumar discussed the role of American agencies in crime detection activities. Somewhere, while reading the contents, the blogger felt that the Indian police confidence level is overshadowed by the efficiency of the American police department. However, in the essay, he revealed that how did an Indian officer played intelligently on the ground when he managed the situation in foreign lands. He showed his astuteness in tackling the media also in foreign countries and thereby saving the nation from diplomatic embarrassment. In addition to that, in this very chapter, he had exposed the active role of Pakistan in the activities of India. He had shown in the case of Memon family that how Indian sleuths outwitted the Pakistani nefarious designs and organisations inimical to the Indian interest. However, it also raises a question that if our individual officers are so smart then why do we not contain the nasty neighbour.

In the episode of Aftab Ansari, he had brought out another angle of the problem of crime and terrorism in India. While revealing the development of Ansari career, he had exposed the role of the unlawful activities of the people from Hindu community wherein criminals like Babloo Srivastava and his coterie had grown. He had also taken up the contemporary issue of Kandahar hijacking case. Including all these issues, he had brought out a solution which required professional attention in South Block. He had talked about the synergy, mutual trust and cooperation mechanism. Probably, that is being now achieved through NIS.

In the second episode, Operation Desert Safari, he provided a glimpse in the working of the CBI and showed that how tricky and discreet activities are performed by the department. He had discussed the structure of the CBI also which could be useful for the uninitiated person if such a person knows only that much which the newspaper helps him to learn. However, he had talked about the archaic way of working of CBI, the lack of absorption of new technology and taking benefit from them. But, simultaneously he also showed that the officers of CBI officers are responsive and progressive also and quickly learn to get results from new technology. It is another thing, he had depicted a scene from last century. It is hoped that by now the scene may be entirely different.

In Operation Desert Safari, he had again shown that how police could achieve the result through synergy, cooperation and mutual trust. During the narration, he remembered some of the other illustrious officers like Mohan Chand Sharma, an inspector of Delhi Police, who was actually shown in wrong colours in a different case. The officer was shot in the course of active duty.

Dial D for Don, the third chapter which has imparted name to the book, may attract the attention of those people who were interested in the news reports when the author was in service. However, the transcript which the author had provided is different from the lingo which Zaidi had claimed to be the language of the person when he had managed to talk to him. Zaidi, in his Dongri to Dubai, recollected that he was highly taken aback by his sophisticated style of speaking. However, the police officer had given a transcript of the talk with the controversial person who talked to him in tapori or Mumbyia lingo and even taunted the officer on a phone when he was going to retire in 2013. A police officer could thoroughly explain how to judge these people. They come across such persons every other minute. Such criminals would never accept their fault and counter you with their questions which are usually a product of their distorted logic and justification.

In episode 4, the author had revealed another side of his learning and education. He seems to have good knowledge of Hindu scriptures. However, his way of explaining the shlokas is materialistic and influenced by Delhite intellectual world. Secondly, he had tried to reveal the deteriorating morality of the common man in Indian and mismatch of the Government version of the social values of the society.

In episode 5, the unmaking of Latif, which was being eulogised in the movie by Shahrukh Khan in Raaez, the retired officer had again shown the intricacies of the working of CBI. They could not be done according to the manuals of conduct. It is the intelligence of the officers on the field which matters more than anything else.

The episode 6 turns out to be the most fascinating chapter in the book. It is surprising to note that the author had given a short note to the book and tried to explain his case. However, therein, a real sensational transnational activity had been narrated. However, a question is repeated again that why are we not able to counter the activities of the inimical neighbour if we can outsmart them on different stages on the international level and continue to do that till this day?

The episode 7 is similar to the chapter 6 in nature and demonstrate the abilities of the people who run the CBI. I believe those who had given star one ranking to this book, could be people or organisation across the borders.

Devil Wears Khadi, the episode 8, is believed to be the most liked chapter by the forward writer Raja Vijay Karan and writer himself. It is about Romesh Sharma, the person who could buy a helicopter for ₹40000 and keep it at his farmhouse in Delhi itself. In this episode, the writer had tried to share his angst as well as settle scores with his adversaries. Probably, it is the chapter which had gained one-star rating to the book. If the author had watched those comment, he might have smiled at it fully knowing who they were. The author had hidden many names and the restraint could be appreciated because of the position which he had held in power circle owing to his organisation. Here, on the social media, his adversaries had hidden their real identities.

The episode 9, on Salim Kurla, brings out another feature of the personality of the author. It seems that he had intentionally written the chapter in the way he had narrated it. However, again, in this chapter, it is proved that everything cannot be conducted as per some manual of law maintaining rules and espionage. It is the personalities of the people which matters.

The episode 10, on Jagtar Singh Tara, is an odd selection. It is another thing that it also brings about the personality traits of the writer which he had demonstrated in the field, and he might have included it to share the real nature of the activities which are performed by the career officers. The only justification for its selection is that the case was also allocated to CBI.

The episode 11, Tracing of MK, is the episode which is spread of his career in CBI and his posting as a police commissioner of the Delhi Police. He had hidden the names of the different cricketers but openly revealed the name of Manoj Prabhakar.

In the acknowledgement section, Neeraj Kumar had given importance to the role of Sayantan Chakravarty who helped him to polish his manuscript. Neeraj Kumar in the Dedication section as well as in the Acknowledgement section is more emphatic to stress his affection for his granddaughter, and he feels more like a grandfather who wants to impress his granddaughter. Throughout the book, a police officer had revealed a different shade of human being who was out there to exercise his authority to accomplish the task assigned to him.

It is essential to observe that as a collective whole, the book is highly gripping and entertaining. In addition to that, the author has raised many issues concerning the police administration, law enforcing agencies and working environment. It is hoped that the Ministry of Personnel Affairs and the parent ministry the Home Affairs may evaluate it with the motive of improving the working of the law enforcement agencies. Many Universities have started Post Graduate Course in Police Administration. The book qualifies for being an excellent case study as well as a reference book.