On the shelf: Must-read titles on India’s economy, caste politics and others

Explore the week’s most compelling new books, featuring Arun Maira’s critique of India’s GDP-obsessed economy and Anand Teltumbde’s deep dive into the caste census debate.

Explore the week's most compelling new books.
Explore the week's most compelling new books.

Reimagining India’s Economy

Arun Maira

Speaking Tiger

Pp 320, Rs 599

The Indian economy is in a crisis. The people know it is, but its leaders deny it. Like ostriches, they try to bury their heads in sands of statistics hoping the storm will pass. They believe more GDP will produce good lives for citizens and try to convince them that India is on the right path because the size of its economy is growing faster. Reimagining India’s Economy is a story of the evolution of the Indian economy after 1947. 

The Caste Con Census

Anand Teltumbde

Navayana

Pp 252, Rs 499

It has been almost a hundred years since the last nation-wide caste count. The 1931 Census, a British exercise, accounted for 4,147 castes. The Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011 returned over 46 lakh caste names. Castes are countless. Caste, by definition, divides. And in the modern period, castes have only multiplied. Many advocates of social justice believe that counting castes will help redress inequalities. Is this true?

Heartbeats: A Memoir

Björn Borg

Hachette

Pp 304, Rs 799

Hailed as one of the most talented players to ever step onto a tennis court, Bjorn Borg collected the game’s highest honours, including 11 Grand Slam titles. Then he stunned the sporting world by announcing his retirement at the age of 26 years and disappeared from tennis. For the first time, readers will get Borg’s own account of his career, his choices, and the experiences that shaped him as a person, from his childhood right up to today.

When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows…

Steven Pinker

Penguin Random House

Pp 384, Rs 1,099

What if the key to understanding why societies rise, collapse, riot, or unite lies in a simple but profound idea: that we’re constantly thinking about what others are thinking about us? In his latest work, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows…, celebrated cognitive scientist Steven Pinker explores the transformative concept of common knowledge, the awareness not just of facts, but that everyone else knows those facts too. 

When Birds Talked

Neha Negi

Penguin Random House

Pp 192, Rs 599

When Birds Talked is an illustrated collection of folklore that reimagines the myths of Himalayan birds. Drawing on Uttarakhand’s rich oral traditions, these tales trace the origins of birds such as the Himalayan Monal, Fire-capped Tit, Spotted Forktail and many others—bringing alive stories of transformation, longing and resilience. Through dramatic storytelling and hand-painted illustrations, Neha Negi creates an enchanting tapestry that connects mythology, ecology, and human imagination.

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This article was first uploaded on October twenty-five, twenty twenty-five, at twenty-eight minutes past seven in the evening.