Reading List For 2020
On this page you’ll find my reading list for the year 2020.
This list is aspirational, which means I might not be able to get through every book I’ve listed here. Most of these are also pretty heavy reads in terms of subject matter, so I’ll certainly be taking breaks from them to dip into some fun YA fiction and trashy thrillers.
The purpose of this list is twofold. First, I want to know more about the lives and times of people who led popular mass movements against injustice in the twentieth century. Second, I want to understand the ideology and methods of the followers of Hindutva, a dangerous ideology that is currently tearing India apart.
With that out of the way, here’s the list.
English
Gandhi Before India by Ramachandra Guha
Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World by Ramachandra Guha
Awakening Bharat Mata by Swapan Dasgupta
Being Hindu by Hindol Sengupta
The Hindu Way by Shashi Tharoor
You Don’t Look Like a Muslim by Rakshanda Jalil
Coming Out as Dalit by Yashica Dutt
There’s Gunpowder in the Air by Manoranjan Bajpayee
How to be a Dictator by Frank Dikotter
Ambedkar: Towards an Enlightened India by Gail Omvedtt
Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography Vol. 1 by Gopal Sarvepalli
Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography Vol. 2 by Gopal Sarvepalli
Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography Vol. 3 by Gopal Sarvepalli
America in the King Years 1954–63 by Taylor Branch
America in the King Years 1963–65 by Taylor Branch
America in the King Years 1965–68 by Taylor Branch
Hindi
वे दिन by Nirmal Verma
परिन्दे by Nirmal Verma
पंद्रह कहानियाँ by Saadat Hassan Manto
रेत-समाधी by Geetanjali Shree
बारामासी by Gyaan Chaturvedi
मैला आँचल by Phaneeshwarnath Renu
गोदान by Premchand
गबन by Premchand
सेवासदन by Premchand
कर्मभूमी by Premchand
Punjabi
ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਪਾਪੀ by Nanak Singh
ਚਿੱਟਾ ਲਹੂ by Nanak Singh
ਮਿੱਟੀ ਦੀ ਜ਼ਾਤ by Amrita Pritam
ਪਿਂਜਰ by Amrita Pritam
ਰਸੀਦੀ ਟਿਕਟ by Amrita Pritam
Stretch Goals
The RSS: A View to the Inside by Walter K. Andersen & Shridhar D. Damle
How the BJP Wins by Prashant Jha
The Annihilation of Caste by B.R. Ambedkar
Hindutva by V.D. Savarkar