India: The Siege Within succeeds in explaining the resilient achievements of India's secular democracy as well as its vulnerability and failures.\n\nM.J. Akbar discusses the origins and nature of the strains on Indian unity which have deep roots in history. Taking 1947 as his springboard, he provides a full historical, political and cultural survey of the main pressure points, and brings his analysis up to date to include the removal of Farooq Abdullah in Kashmir, an account of his meeting with Bhindranwale, the army operation at the Golden Temple, the assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi, and their implications for the future. Rising fundamentalism, separatism, the consequences of Partition, unease in Kashmir on every side it seems that India's democratic unity is continually at risk.
M.J. Akbar is a distinguished writer and Member of Parliament representing the BJP from Madhya Pradesh. During his long career in journalism, he launched, as editor, India's first weekly political news magazine, Sunday in 1976, and two daily newspapers, The Telegraph in 1982 and The Asian Age in 1994. He has also been editorial director of India Today and The Sunday Guardian. He is also the author of several internationally acclaimed books, including India: The Siege Within; Nehru: The Making of India; Kashmir: Behind the Vale; The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity; Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan; and Blood Brothers, a novel. In addition there have been four collections of his columns, reportage and essays.
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