Oxford India Short Introductions: Understanding Different Aspects of India (original) (raw)

T he Oxford India Short Introductions are concise, stimulating, and accessible guides to different aspects of India. Combining authoritative analysis, new ideas, and diverse perspectives, they discuss subjects which are topical yet enduring, as also emerging areas of study and debate.' This statement, which appears in every Short Introduction, is the only series introduction that the reader gets. It is open-ended enough to accommodate a range of unconnected topics-Natural Disasters and Indian History, The Poverty Line and The Indian Constitution. A closer look at four books in the series, Affirmative Action in India (AA) by Ashwini Deshpande, Panchayati Raj (PR) by Kuldeep Mathur, The Right to Information in India (RTI) by Sudhir Naib and The Civil Services in India (CSI) by S.K. Das-all published in 2013-confirms the claims made in the 'series introduction'. The writers are well-known experts and their analysis is authoritative. They present their themes clearly, and locate them in their historical contexts. They outline the current debates in their subject areas and provide their own perspectives on these debates. The small-sized books are compact-each is roughly 200 pages long, but in an easy to read format. They are reliable and provide detailed introductions to the topics they deal with. Each book is bound to be appreciated by the general reader who wants to be better informed, and by students of the book's theme. But more importantly, in a discipline like management, a selection from the list, or perhaps chapters from the various titles, can be put together to provide students, administrators, and practitioners with a fairly deep understanding of the socio-political contexts in which management operates. For instance, chapters from the titles on caste, affirmative action, panchayati raj, Indian cities, the Indian Constitution and the civil services would make for an interesting set of readings on the sociocultural environment in which we operate. Add titles dealing with the poverty line, trade and environment, water resources, capital flows and exchange rate management, and one has a fairly comprehensive coverage of the macroeconomic environment. Postgraduate programmes in management would do well to use this series to teach an under-emphasized area in management education-the social, political and economic contexts in which our formal and informal enterprises operate. The books are moderately priced, around `200 to `250, making them attractive to the average reader.