Must-read books on India

For any civil services aspirant, the toughest papers in the entire exam pattern will be General Studies papers 1 to 3 in Mains. To write answers with conceptual clarity, it is essential to have a grasp of Indian society,economy,polity,administration and foreign policy. So, here is a subjective list of what are some must-read books on India for any good citizen of India,in general and a civil services aspirant,in particular.

1. India after Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha

This book gives a remarkable overview of Indian history right from1947 till early 2000s. The chapters on post-partition reconstruction and general elections are classic lessons on how valuable a role bureaucrats have played in the India story. Special mention must be made of the classic last chapter which ponders loudly on how does India exist at all and of the many reasons Guha provides for why India has survived,one is Indian Administrative Service.

2. India Unbound by Gurcharan Das

If 1947 was the year of our political independence,1991 must be considered the year of our economic independence. It was the year of liberalization and to know how such economic liberalization policies transformed the day-to-day lives of the aspiring middle classes of India, this book is very useful. The chapters on what exactly happened in July 1991 when the most unlikeliest combo of PVN-MMS combined to unshackle our economy read like a political thriller.

3. An Uncertain Glory by Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze

Reading Gurcharan Das without balancing it by reading Amartya Sen is dangerous. The recent work (2013) by Sen and Dreze on the need for a strong welfare state will go down as a classic in the coming years. I really enjoyed the sections on how the education and health sectors can be reoriented and revamped. This is a scholarly work kept simple for the sake of the common reader.

4. In spite of the Gods by Edward Luce 

A foreign journalist's lucid account of what drives modern India. There are chapters on economy,society,politics and foreign policy. The book's strength is it's anecdotal approach mixing facts/theories with real-life stories which represent a rising nation. A special mention must be made of the chapter on IAS officers in which he interviews some serving officers on what it takes to effect change in our system.

5. Everybody loves a good drought by P.Sainath

Whenever you feel that India is all shining and achhe din are here to stay, please do read P.Sainath's hard-hitting book which covers how life goes on in some of the poorest districts of India. For any civil service aspirant who wants to change the reality,the first thing to do is to face the reality. P.Sainath helps us do exactly that.

6. Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani 

Nandan Nilekani combines his corporate experience with societal concern so beautifully in this work. It was in this book that I read about demographic dividend for the first time. The book's USP is ,of course, Nilekani's technology-based solutions to governance and welfare issues.(including Aadhar project).

7.10 judgements that changed India by Zia Modi

From Keshavananda Barathi to Shah Bano, this book covers all monumental judgements that have transformed the course of jurisprudence in modern India. Never has such a short book enlightened more on contemporary India !

8. India : The Emerging Giant by Arvind Panagiriya :

Putting books of Amartya Sen and Arvind Panagiriya in the same list sounds dangerous but to get a well-rounded idea of any subject,it is important to read contradictory viewpoints. We are not aspiring to become pamphleteers here and our ambition is to become a bureaucrat to serve the country. In such a case,reading both Ambedkar and Gandhi is needed. Listening to both Arnab Goswami and Arundhati Roy is necessary. This book by Panagiriya is a detailed introduction to Indian economy and the path taken by it from Nehru to Manmohan Singh.

9. Does the elephant dance ? by David Malone :

Such a clear-headed introduction to our foreign policy. Not a single line is written unnecessarily. Both foreign policy and concise writing can be learned in this to-be-classic book.

10. Makers of modern India by Ramachandra Guha

 A brilliant guide to Modern Indian political thought. From Raja Rammohan Roy to C.Rajagopalachari, the book covers all geniuses who have shaped our nation. I reread this book often just for the reading pleasure and the sense of pride I get while picking the brains of Ambedkar and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay et al.

11.Looking away by Harsh Mander :

This is the only book in this list which was published in 2015. Harsh Mander,a former IAS officer writes so eloquently on inequality and prejudice in India. The book is politically biased but it is still a worthy read because the author's heart is in the right place. A book to be read along with Amartya Sen's "An Uncertain glory".

Twelfth Man: The twelfth man in this assortment of books is the first man to read actually. We cannot aspire to become good sons of India without studying the Father in detail. So, the essential writings of Mahatma Gandhi edited by Judith Brown is the perfect place to start your civil services preparation. Civil services is all about the ideal of public service and who else can teach it other than our beloved Bapu?

Note : Basics of civil services, Naxalite movement, partition, emergency and Nehruvian thought can be learned in S.K.Das, Rahul Pandita, Nisid Hajari ,Coomi Kapoor and "Discovery of India" respectively.