October nonfiction picks: Six recent books that look at aspects of Indian history through new lenses

A history of Indian women through sports, a study of the Dom caste population, a public intellectual’s memoir, and more.

Sep 30, 2023 - 14:30

October nonfiction picks: Six recent books that look at aspects of Indian history through new lenses

The Day I Became a Runner: A Women’s History of India through the Lens of Sport, Sohini Chattopadhyay

Sohini Chattopadhyay presents the compelling stories of eight athletes spanning the history of independent India and involving women from a wide range of social and geographical backgrounds.

Whether it is Ila Mitra, who could have been the first Indian-origin woman at the 1940 Olympics, or Mary D’Souza, who ran and played hockey for India through the 1950s, whether it is Kamaljit Sandhu, a star hockey player who made history for India in Bangkok, 1970, or PT Usha, who redefined the 1980s and the decades that followed for women in sport across the country, each of the women in this book will inspire and encourage the women reading it to break barriers and chase their dreams.

The Day I Became a Runner is an alternative account of the Indian Republic chronicled through the lens of its women athletes. In that sense, it is a women’s history of India.

Three Countries, Three Lives: A Doctor’s Story, Lindy Rajan Carter

Set between three countries, Burma, India, and England, and spanning three generations, Three Countries, Three Lives: A Doctor’s Story spans the period 1870 to 1977. Tracing India’s journey towards Independence in 1947, Lindy Rajan Cartner’s story explores...