The idea to spend your life with a practical stranger chosen by your parents is deemed regressive. Often termed as a marriage of convenience, criticism against this form of marriage is not hard to find. However, these relationships always represent a different kind of love, one that is far removed from the kind fed by novels, movies and now social media. I feel that love in an arranged marriage creeps in slowly, without making any noise and I think that it perhaps is something closest to companionship. Life spent under the protective, watchful eye of her family, something that she realized has ruled her decisions till now, Aara Kazmi, a 27 year old ambitious doctor, is uncomfortable with the fact that the groom is chosen by her parents. Samir Ahmed, 30, an investment banker won't take no for an answer and pursues her till she settles for few months' time to get to know him better before taking a final decision. But for how long will he have to wait when Aara is convinced that Samir is not her choice and tries to find a loophole in this arranged marriage setup. Set in 2006-07 North India, this novel tries to explore the array of emotions that an educated, career oriented Indian girl feels when her parents choose a life partner for her.

'...unmatched in its meticulous and careful research into the wellsprings of a truly unique relationship between two neighbouring states.' SHYAM SARAN 'Ranjit Rae's portrayal of India-Nepal relations from the Indian perspective is meticulous, nuanced and insightful." S.D. MUNI 'Ranjit Rae breaks down the paradox of India's very intimate yet troubled relationship with Nepal.' C. RAJA MOHAN The first two decades of the new millennium have witnessed a dramatic socio-political transformation of Nepal. A violent Maoist insurgency ended peacefully, a new constitution abolished the monarchy and established a secular federal democratic republic. Nevertheless, political stability and a peace dividend have both remained elusive. Nepal is also buffeted by changing geopolitics, including the US-China contestation for influence and the uneasy relationship between India and China. As a close neighbour, India has been deeply associated with the seminal changes in Nepal, and the bilateral relationship has seen many twists and turns. Partly a memoir, this book examines India's perspective on these developments, in the context of the civilizational and economic underpinnings of the India-Nepal relationship, as well as issues that continue to prevent this relationship from exploiting its full potential. Though there are several Nepalese accounts that deal with this subject, there are few from an Indian point of view. Kathmandu Dilemma fills this gap.

Saffron terrorism. Is it a fact? Or, is this a myth? After all, do we know enough? The shocking blasts of Malegaon and Samjhauta were projected as 'saffron terrorism'. A new theory, terrorist attacks were tainted as such till, a few years later, Kasab's confession offered solid proof of Pakistan's role in the 26/11 attacks. Though the police had concluded a Pakistani hand for the earlier blasts, it was saffron terrorism which prevented the perpetrators of these attacks from being brought to justice. As a theory, saffron terrorism is not just hurting Hindus sentiments but is also an obstacle to fight real terrorism sponsored by Pakistan and Islamic states. The term was coined by the erstwhile UPA government to garner minority votes and manipulate the vote bank. After all, why were the Malegaon-accused SIMI activists let off? Why did certain politicians declare not to oppose their bail? What was truly behind Aseemanand's confession? The reliability of these confessions was questionable given the police brutality that the National Investigative Agency exposed. Journalist Praveen Tiwari explores saffron terrorism and reveals through exclusive interviews of senior National Investigative Agency officials, undercover agents and politicians how vote bank politics can compromise ethics and national security. Should the real masterminds behind the blasts be allowed to go scot-free? Should the manipulators of the Samjhauta Express bombings not be held accountable? Should we not investigate those who had exonerated Pakistan of its guilt? An extensive research on communal politics, the book offers indisputable evidence of the 'saffron terrorism' theory as the Great Indian Conspiracy.

How do tax havens and syndicates running shell companies help fraudsters escape the long arm of the law? How does the ambiguity of valuation in the start-up ecosystem increase its vulnerability to corporate fraud? How are manufacturers and exporters from China exploiting India's Free Trade Area (FTA) with other countries to dump goods at artificially low prices in the Indian market? What challenges does the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China pose for regulators of India? Why do people fall for Ponzi and pyramid schemes again and again? Serious frauds affect society and economy in damaging ways, belittling the common man's trust in the system. Yet, barely do we understand how these affect our lives. A first-of-its-kind, The Great Indian Fraud reveals how all such frauds result from the manipulation of complex financial transactions, involving simple mathematics and tricks, to deceive regulators, enforcers, business partners and customers. Drawing on his experience in the fields of forensic audit and financial investigation, author Smarak Swain explains the modus operandi behind some of the most notorious cases of fraud-Haridas Mundhra, Jayanti Dharma Teja, Harshad Mehta, Ketan Parekh, Hasan Ali Khan, B. Ramalinga Raju, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and many more-narrating the rise and fall of the greatest fraudsters of our times. Informative and skilfully narrated, The Great Indian Fraud is a must-read to understand how frauds happen, how law enforcement agencies handle crises, the sectors that witness maximum frauds as well as the emerging sectors that are at high risk.

"In this stunningly illustrated book, Camellia Panjabi takes the reader on a journey through the sights, smells, and tastes of the centerpiece of the Indian meal, the curry." -- inside cover.

"Malaysia is a prosperous, modern Islamic nation in which three main ethnic groups - Malay, Chinese and Indian - coexist peacefully, while maintaining their unique cultural identities. Yet this stable society is founded upon a form of affirmative action th"

A graphically illustrated history of America through its major speeches, laws, proclamations, court decisions, and essays introduces, through the narrative character of "Uncle Sam," each document's origins, creation, and impact.

Camilla Townsend's stunning new book, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma, differs from all previous biographies of Pocahontas in capturing how similar seventeenth century Native Americans were--in the way they saw, understood, and struggled to control their world---not only to the invading British but to ourselves. Neither naïve nor innocent, Indians like Pocahontas and her father, the powerful king Powhatan, confronted the vast might of the English with sophistication, diplomacy, and violence. Indeed, Pocahontas's life is a testament to the subtle intelligence that Native Americans, always aware of their material disadvantages, brought against the military power of the colonizing English. Resistance, espionage, collaboration, deception: Pocahontas's life is here shown as a road map to Native American strategies of defiance exercised in the face of overwhelming odds and in the hope for a semblance of independence worth the name. Townsend's Pocahontas emerges--as a young child on the banks of the Chesapeake, an influential noblewoman visiting a struggling Jamestown, an English gentlewoman in London--for the first time in three-dimensions; allowing us to see and sympathize with her people as never before.

This edited volume critically examines the concept of the “security dilemma” and applies it to India–China maritime competition. Though frequently employed in academic discussion and popular commentary on the Sino-Indian relationship, the term has rarely been critically analysed. The volume addresses the gap by examining whether the security dilemma is a useful concept in explaining the naval and foreign policy strategies of India and China. China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its expansive engagement in the Indian Ocean Region have resulted in India significantly scaling up investment in its navy, adding ships, naval aircraft and submarines. This volume investigates how the rivalry is playing out in different sub-regions of the Indian Ocean, and the responses of other powers, notably the United States and prominent Southeast Asian states. Their reactions to the Sino-Indian rivalry are an underexplored topic and the chapters in this book reveal how they selectively use that rivalry while trying to steer clear of making definite choices. The book concludes with recommendations on mitigating the security dilemma. This work will be of great interest to students of strategic studies, international relations, maritime security, and Asian politics.

Between 1400 and 1878, the majority of Southern Slavic peoples endured several centuries of Ottoman rule. In the nineteenth century there was a movement among both the Croats and the Serbs to set aside regional, ethnic, religious, and cultural differences in order to work together toward the liberation of all the Southern Slavs from the Ottoman yoke. These volumes explore how the masterpieces of two leading poets among the Croats and Serbs - Ivan Mazuranić (1814-1890) and Petar II Petrović Njegos (1813-1851), who was Prince-Bishop of Montenegro from 1830-1851 - dealt with the Southern Slavs' relationship to Islam in their greatest poetic works, The Death of Smail-agha Čengić and The Mountain Wreath, respectively.