Like all great books, India’s best novels are worth reading not just because of what they show about India, but what they reveal about the human condition. Here Radhika Jha, author of four critically acclaimed books, talks us through five important Indian novels and novelists and explains why it’s so important that fiction isn’t just about personal experience.

As the world’s biggest democracy, India could be an inspiring example of how a multiethnic, multilingual country with many different religions can come together to form a vibrant state with equality enshrined in its constitution. But all that is in danger of going down the drain, as the country transforms into a brutally exclusionary Hindu-supremacist state under the leadership of Narendra Modi, says Kapil Komireddi, essayist and author of Malevolent Republic: A Short History of the New India. Here, he talks us through how the country got to where it is now and recommends five books that present a “comprehensive picture” of contemporary India.

The world’s largest democracy isn’t something that has just materialised in the past 60 years, says the Indian essayist and novelist. He chooses books that illustrate India’s complex history and diverse society.

Gandhi’s peaceful resistance to British rule changed India and inspired freedom movements around the globe. But as well as being an inspiring leader, Gandhi was also a human being. Ramachandra Guha, author of a new two-part biography of Gandhi, introduces us to books that give a fuller picture of the man who came to be known as ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi.

The Mughals ruled the Indian subcontinent for three centuries, a multicultural empire that brought together an extraordinary mix of Mongol, Islamic, Persian and Indian practices, religious beliefs and philosophies. Here, historian Richard M. Eaton, a professor at the University of Arizona, chooses some of the best scholarly works on the Mughals that shed new light on how the empire functioned.

It’s one of the most densely populated, vibrant cities in the world, combining enormous wealth with dire poverty. It’s India’s financial and commercial capital, home to the glamour of Bollywood and the movie industry, but it has somehow managed to defy modernization. Saumya Roy, journalist, author and co-founder of a nonprofit that made loans to the city’s poorest entrepreneurs, recommends her favourite books on Mumbai (aka Bombay).

The writer and translator Jenny Bhatt selects five key works of South Asian literature, all historical novels available in English translation, that showcase the richness and diversity of the region’s lesser known languages: from a modernist classic decrying the depradations of the coal mining industry to a ‘loose, baggy monster’ of a Victorian novel exploring utopian ideals.

Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics at Cornell and former Chief Economist of the World Bank (2012-2016), says there’s a Gandhian way of evaluating society that takes account of both growth and inequality, and tells us why his job is an anthropologist’s dream come true. He picks the best books to understand India’s economy.

India has a thriving literary community working in 22 official languages plus English, says Rana Dasgupta, the literary director of the JCB Prize: a major award for the best new novel by an Indian author. Here, he talks us through their 2019 shortlist.

The award-winning writer selects five books on India and says that the Mahabharata, eight times the length of the Bible, is one of the great works of literature of mankind – and every bit as good as it’s made out to be

South Asia has become the beating heart of cricket, with wild enthusiasm for the game at every level of society. Historian Prashant Kidambi—whose book, Cricket Country, was shortlisted for the 2020 Wolfson History Prize—takes us through the history of cricket in India, from its traditional, colonial roots through to the colourful, frenetic national game of today.

Labour peer and professor emeritus at the London School of Economics, Meghnad Desai, marvels at the Indian people’s incredible tenacity for democracy and self-advancement since independence in 1947. He picks the best books on India.

Contrary to its popularization in Western culture, yoga isn’t just a form of fitness: its history is rooted in a long Hindu tradition shaped by great teachers in India. Here we have the best books for those who want to learn more about yoga, recommended by Liz Derow, a longtime practitioner and teacher of yoga in India and around the world.

Human history has been founded on the banks of great rivers – but in the East they are increasingly the focus of bitter international and environmental dispute, says Victor Mallet, the journalist and author of River of Life, River of Death. Here he selects five brilliant books that profile Asia’s most celebrated waterways.

Can one encounter the whole universe in the streets of one city? Kushanava Choudhury, author of a new book about Calcutta, says so, and tells us how

The veteran journalist, who has lived in India for most of his life, talks about the country’s new-found self-confidence and recommends books to better understand its history and complexities

The president of the Asia Society discusses the changing role of women in Asian countries and how women have reached positions of leadership there

The author of the acclaimed India: A Portrait takes us around the world’s largest democracy, from the dance bars of Bombay to Kerala crab curry on the Southwest coast. Patrick French picks the best books on India.

Professor Brian Shoesmith chooses five books that celebrate the lavish history of the Indian film industry. He maintains that Bollywood has become a global brand — in Perth, you can even take classes in Bollywood dance.

The author and Senior Conservator of the University of London’s Senate House Library discusses books on Indian Journeys. Interesting selections that offer good insights into the authors themselves