Penguin Books has acquired the rights to publish seven books by the renowned historian and biographer Ramachandra Guha, in what is perhaps the most significant literary acquisition in recent times. According to reports, Guha will get an advance of Rs 1 crore for the books.
The first of the seven books that Penguin will publish, in 2010, is The Makers of Modern India. This major work shall trace the evolution of modern India from the nineteenth century to the present through the lives and works of the country’s most influential political thinkers.
The Past and Future of Indian Democracy, a book of essays on the issues and individuals who together define, champion or challenge the idea of democracy in free India, will be published in 2011.
Subsequently, Penguin will publish Guha’s magnum opus, a definitive two-volume biography of Mahatma Gandhi. This, the biggest, most comprehensive and important biography of Gandhi ever, will equally be a portrait of India and South Africa in his lifetime and an examination of his contemporaries in the struggles he led. The two volumes will be published in 2012 and 2015, respectively.
These four titles are certain to be the biggest non-fiction works in the subcontinent over the next few years.
In addition to these, Penguin India will re-issue three titles from Ramachandra Guha’s remarkable backlist. Revised and expanded editions of Savaging the Civilized, Guha’s biography of Verrier Elwin; Environmentalism: A Global History; and The States of Indian Cricket, a collection of Guha’s cricket writings, will all be published in 2011. Penguin already publishes Ecology and Equity, Guha’s book on environmental issues (co-authored with Madhav Gadgil).
Ramachandra Guha is among the most widely respected historians and non-fiction writers of our times. Born in Dehradun in 1958, and educated in Delhi and Calcutta, Guha pursued an academic career for ten years before becoming a full-time writer. He has written on a variety of subjects including environmentalism, sociology, social and political history, and cricket. Over the years, his books have been critically acclaimed and have found a widespread popular following as well. This is especially true of his recent book India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy, which was published last year. Also in 2008, Guha was named one of the hundred most influential intellectuals in the world by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines. Early this year, Guha was awarded the Padma Bhushan. He is also managing trustee of the New India Foundation, a non-profit body that funds research on modern Indian history.
Ramachandra Guha’s move to Penguin is among the biggest events in the Indian publishing industry in recent years. Speaking about his move to Penguin India, Ramachandra Guha said: ‘I am delighted to be published by Penguin. I have long admired their excellence in all aspects of publishing—editing, production, design and marketing. I look forward to a long and productive association’.
Ravi Singh, Publisher, Penguin Books India, added: ‘It’s a great privilege to be the publishers of such an original and influential thinker and historian. These books, to be published over the next six years, are on the most significant and fascinating aspects of our national life. It doesn’t get any bigger or more important than this in contemporary non-fiction.’
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