Free Download Jan Westerhoff, "The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy "
English | ISBN: 019873266X | 2018 | 352 pages | EPUB | 970 KB
Jan Westerhoff unfolds the story of one of the richest episodes in the history of Indian thought, the development of Buddhist philosophy in the first millennium CE. He starts from the composition of the Abhidharma works before the beginning of the common era and continues up to the time of Dharmakirti in the sixth century. This period was characterized by the development of a variety of philosophical schools and approaches that have shaped Buddhist thought up to the present day: the scholasticism of the Abhidharma, the Madhyamaka's theory of emptiness, Yogacara idealism, and the logical and epistemological works of Dinnaga and Dharmakirti. The book attempts to describe the historical development of these schools in their intellectual and cultural context, with particular emphasis on three factors that shaped the development of Buddhist philosophical thought: the need to spell out the contents of canonical texts, the discourses of the historical Buddha and the Mahayana sutras; the desire to defend their positions by sophisticated arguments against criticisms from fellow Buddhists and from non-Buddhist thinkers of classical Indian philosophy; and the need to account for insights gained through the application of specific meditative techniques. While the main focus is the period up to the sixth century CE, Westerhoff also discusses some important thinkers who influenced Buddhist thought between this time and the decline of Buddhist scholastic philosophy in India at the beginning of the thirteenth century. His aim is that the historical presentation will also allow the reader to get a better systematic grasp of key Buddhist concepts such as non-self, suffering, reincarnation, karma, and nirvana.

Free Download Dilip Donde, "The First Indian: The First Indian Solo Circumnavigation Under Sail "
English | ISBN: 1909911496 | 2016 | 304 pages | AZW3 | 3 MB
An engrossing narrative of one man's struggle to achieve his dream against all odds, this is both a fast-paced adventure and a telling commentary on how heroes are often made despite the system they operate in, by dint of sheer perseverance and commitment to a chosen path. Above all, it's a paean to the power of self-belief that serves to inspire, motivate and exhilarate. On 19 May 2010, as he sailed INSV Mhadei into Mumbai harbour, Commander Dilip Donde earned his place in India's maritime history by becoming the first Indian to complete a solo circumnavigation under sail, south of the 3 Great Capes. The feat, successfully completed by just over 200 people in the world, had never been attempted in his country before. In his own words, the book chronicles his progress over four years, from building a suitable boat with an Indian boat-builder; weaving his way through the 'sea-blind' and often quixotic bureaucracy; and training himself with no precedent or knowledge base in the country, to finally sailing solo around the world. During this gruelling task he was mentored by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo non-stop around the world.

Free Download Subjective Well-Being in the Indian Context: Concept, Measure and Index by Tithi Bhatnagar
English | PDF (True) | 2023 | 260 Pages | ISBN : 981996525X | 6.3 MB
This book offers an understanding of subjective well-being (SWB) in the Indian context across ages and strata. It discusses the conceptualization and measurement of both subjective well-being (SWB) and subjective ill-being (SIB) through a multi-phased research study. The structure of SWB and development, standardization, and indexing of an SWB Measure provide insights on how the SWB Measure can enable nations to find out the national level of SWB/SIB for its citizens. The index may be useful in identifying the level of people's well-being or ill-being. It explores the possibility of implications and interventions in optimizing SWB both at the individual and collective levels. It is a consolidated account of the work done in SWB research, particularly with a cultural focus from the Indian context. This book has a wide application for students, researchers, psychometricians, practitioners, policymakers, and all individuals interested in concepts like SWB and Happiness.

Free Download Soil Carbon Dynamics in Indian Himalayan Region by Gaurav Mishra, Krishna Giri, Arun Jyoti Nath, Rosa Francaviglia
English | PDF EPUB (True) | 2023 | 390 Pages | ISBN : 9819933021 | 60.6 MB
The contributed volume assimilates the knowledge, experience, and exciting aspects of soil carbon research in the Indian Himalayan region. It includes different aspects and factors associated with soil carbon sequestration in the region, one of the biodiversity hot spots and highly vulnerable to climatic change impacts. Information on different aspects of soil organic carbon dynamics concerning adaptive land management practices and anthropogenic impacts is covered. Further topics include applying advanced tools and techniques to soil carbon vis-a-vis soil erosion research. This book is of interest to researchers and policymakers involved in soil carbon research and offer ideas to enhance the soil carbon in the region concerned. In addition, the book will provide up-to-date information for researchers interested in soil carbon research for the maintenance of soil quality and fertility in the climate-vulnerable Indian Himalayan region.

Free Download Tejas Parasher, "Radical Democracy in Modern Indian Political Thought "
English | ISBN: 100930559X | 2023 | 280 pages | PDF | 2 MB
Between the 1910s and the 1970s, an eclectic group of Indian thinkers, constitutional reformers, and political activists articulated a theory of robustly democratic, participatory popular sovereignty. Taking parliamentary government and the modern nation-state to be prone to corruption, these thinkers advocated for ambitious federalist projects of popular government as alternatives to liberal, representative democracy. Radical Democracy in Modern Indian Political Thought is the first study of this counter-tradition of democratic politics in South Asia. Examining well-known historical figures such as Dadabhai Naoroji, M. K. Gandhi, and M. N. Roy alongside long-neglected thinkers from the Indian socialist movement, Tejas Parasher illuminates the diversity of political futures imagined at the end of the British Empire in South Asia. This book reframes the history of twentieth-century anti-colonialism in novel terms - as a contest over the nature of modern political representation - and pushes readers to rethink accepted understandings of democracy today.

Free Download Nishat Zaidi, "Indian Modernities"
English | ISBN: 1032280123 | 2023 | 338 pages | PDF | 3 MB
This volume studies the ways in which modernity has been conceived, practiced, and performed in Indian literatures from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It brings together essays on writings in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and languages from Northeast India, which form a dialogical relationship with each other in this volume. The concurrence and contradictions emerging through these studies problematize the idea of modernity afresh.

Free Download Indian Metallurgy: The Platinum Years by R. Divakar, S. V. S. Narayana Murty, S. Srikanth, Amol A. Gokhale
English | PDF EPUB (True) | 2023 (2024 Edition) | 474 Pages | ISBN : 9819950597 | 182.3 MB
The book marks the Platinum Jubilee of the Indian Institute of Metals, closely matching independent India's age. It is envisaged as a compilation of technical articles tracing the birth and growth trajectory of metallurgical science, engineering and technology in the nation, attempting a degree of prognostication covering the next quarter of a century. It contains the essence of the metallurgical research and development and industrial progress India has witnessed in the last 75 years. This book comprises technical articles written by industry leaders and eminent technocrats. It includes overviews by distinguished researchers who have strived to build foundations of new metallurgical research and engineering fields. It includes learned writings of persons associated with premier institutions heavily dependent on metallurgy and materials. They have made seminal contributions by nurturing the growth of metallurgical research and industrial production or have made first-hand contributions to building the great organisations we have today. Coinciding with the Platinum Jubilee year of the Indian Institute of Metals, this book brings out the enormous efforts of these individuals representing their organisations to share insights that led to their success as an entity. Similarly, several professionals who significantly contributed to the understanding of metallurgical engineering, have held important positions and steered the national strategic programmes or academically nurtured students in their illustrious careers also share their journey in this book. This book chronicles the significant advances made in the field of metallurgical science, engineering and technology in India, presenting the historical perspective and prospects in the format of a technical volume.

Free Download Shirin M Rai, "Indian Debates on the International Left: Selected Writings of Lajpat Rai "
English | ISBN: 9354792111 | 2021 | 268 pages | PDF | 5 MB
This book traces the Indian Left's engagement with the international communist debates of the 1960s and 1970s, shedding new light on the fault lines within the Left as well as on its international solidarities. Lajpat Rai argued for rethinking established leftist positions, seeking inspiration in experiment and developing creative approaches for the sustainability of socialist ideas and ideals.

Free Download Raziuddin Aquil, "In the Name of Allah: Understanding Islam and Indian History"
English | ISBN: 0670082619 | 2010 | 304 pages | PDF | 14 MB
The history of Islam in India has resulted in impassioned debates between scholars from the secularists to the Hindu right. Arguing that these histories tend to project modern concerns back in time, Raziuddin Aquil conducts a dispassionate investigation of the period between the thirteenth and the nineteenth centuries, from the heyday of Muslim political domination of large areas of the Subcontinent to the decline of the Mughals, accompanied by the transformations colonialism brought in its wake. Using texts from the medieval and early modern periods, Aquil uncovers connections between a variety of factors the religious orthodoxy or the ulama; Muslim rulers attempts to deal with competing religious ideologies; the influence of Sufi traditions; the emergence of Sikhism and its tenuous relationship with Islam; and the development of Urdu as a language of the people. Situating his arguments in the context of contemporary politics involving Hindus and Muslims, Islam and the West, and the long-term struggles within Muslim societies between reason and faith, Aquil contends that some of the issues explored here have come down to us from medieval times while others have been transformed completely into concerns that are purely modern in origin. Penetrating and readable, In the Name of Allah tackles the legacy of Muslim rule in India, and in the process presents Islam as a complex and continually changing tradition.

Free Download Dhirendra S Jafa, "Death Wasn't Painful: Stories of Indian Fighter Pilots from the 1971 War"
English | ISBN: 8132117891 | 2014 | 262 pages | EPUB | 1047 KB
Death Wasn't Painful is a true account of the experiences of a former Indian fighter pilot, who was taken prisoner during the 1971 Indo-Pak/Bangladesh Liberation War. While depicting the intrepid life of fighter pilots in active combat, the book also has an introspective side where it portrays the soldier's reactions to the terrifying realities of war. The experiences of prisoners of war are finely drawn, as we share the emotions of war―death, alienation, loneliness and grief. Through heart-warming anecdotes and conversational passages of interactions with Pakistani interrogators, attendants, jailors and civilians, the book juxtaposes the metaphor of physical battles in the sky with the conflict of minds between two nations.