Combo of BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY by Raghunathan V./ Prasad Veena and POLITICAL AND INCORRECT by Singh Tavleen (Set of 2 Books)

This combo product is bundled in India but the publishing origin of this title may vary.Publication date of this bundle is the creation date of this bundle; the actual publication date of child items may vary.India wasn't their janmabhoomi but they made it their karmabhoomiThe 200-year British presence in India left behind a mixed legacy. We think of the colonial rulers as people who plundered and impoverished our land. Lost in that narrative is the work of the scores of well-intentioned individuals who played a part in shaping modern India.Did you know for instance that as far back as the 1850s a British engineer had chalked out a plan to link all the major rivers of India? Or that tea did not grow in Darjeeling until an English surgeon planted a smuggled Chinese plant in his backyard in the hills? Or that there was an East India Company polyglot who mastered Sanskrit translated Kalidasa's works into English and then set up the Asiatic Society?Beyond the Call of Duty celebrates a dozen of these British gentlemen who far exceeded their job descriptions devoting their lives to the greater good of an adopted country -- men whose work continues to benet India.They may not have had history books eulogizing them but they exemplify a work ethic that is rare and relevant today. And therein lies the need to revive these stories -- so that we may draw lessons from every quarter of our past to sculpt a better future.Tavleen Singh began writing her weekly column in The Indian Express in 1987. It was history as First draft written not in hindsight but as events unfolded. The column captured the country's mood every week. Debating the latest development with a reporter's eye and a columnist's insistence Singh called out various political dispensations on their ill-conceived schemes and often too their scheming. Between 1987 and 2007 much as India changed it also remained the same. The persistence of malnutrition the systemic slackness in primary education unsafe water and insufficient health care - Singh stayed with these matters even as they went out of fashion when liberalized urbanizing India made rapid strides. In Political and Incorrect Tavleen Singh brings the politician and the bureaucrat to the page with the same mix of wise wry scrutiny as the terrible options they foist on India's poorest people. The shambles of infrastructure are described with the same vigour as a raucous political rally. Through Singh's clear lens the aloof arrogant leader is as familiar as the man next door and the issues at stake accessible and clear. This expansive compendium captures neatly twenty years of India as they unfolded.