{"title":"September 2026 Staff Picks","description":"\u003cp\u003eCelebrate National Read a Book Day with five books handpicked from India Club’s shelves. September’s selections range from Satyajit Ray’s detective fiction and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s imaginative retelling of the Mahabharata through Draupadi’s eyes to investigations of the Sarasvati, Africans in India, and the intersections of Sufism, culture and politics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChosen for their literary quality, historical insight and distinctive perspectives, these books reflect the breadth of Indian writing and scholarship available from India Club. Every title shown is physically stocked in the United States and ready to ship.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"22649-sufism-culture-and-politics","title":"Sufism, Culture And Politics","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAuthor: Raziuddin Aquil\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Oxford University Press\u003cbr\u003eYear: 2007\u003cbr\u003eLanguage: English\u003cbr\u003ePages: 268\u003cbr\u003eISBN\/UPC (if available): 978-0-19-568512-1\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e Description\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSynthesizing current research and using major Persian sources— both printed texts and rare manuscripts— Sufism, Culture, and Politics provides an up to date political history of north India under Afghan rulers in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Focusing on interconnections between religion and politics, it also raises questions of paramount concern to an understanding of Islam in medieval north India. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book is divided into three sections. The first section explores the Afghan attempts at empire-building under the leadership of Sher Shah Sur. Discussing the incorporation of the Rajputs in the Afghan imperial project, the second part deals with the prevalent ideals and institutions of governance. The last segment investigates the social and political role of the Sufis. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQuestioning the over-emphasis on the Sultanate and Mughal periods in Indian history writing, Aquil projects a dynamic view of the Afghan period. He argues that the Afghan rulers were celebrated for their welfare works, personal piety, and madad-i-ma’ash grants to holy men. They also drew upon universal tropes of kingship for the articulation of their power rather than merely depending upon tribal lineages and customs. The author also highlights the role of Sufism in the transformation of the Afghan state formations and their contributions to religious syncretism and cultural synthesis.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContents\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction:\u003cbr\u003eThe Study of Medieval Indian History\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePART I: \u003cbr\u003eStruggle for Power and Dominance\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. The Making of a Badshah: \u003cbr\u003e    Emergence of Sher Shah Sur\u003cbr\u003e2. Mughal-Afghan Interface:\u003cbr\u003e    Battles and Mobilization\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePART II:\u003cbr\u003ePolitical Ideals and Institutions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e3. Norms of Governance and Aspects of Administration\u003cbr\u003e4. The Afghans and the Rajputs: Conflicts \u003cbr\u003e     And Accommodation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePART III:\u003cbr\u003eReligion, Politics, and Society\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5. The Political and the Sufic Wilayat\u003cbr\u003e6. 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The Northwest region entered an arid phase, and erosion coupled with tectonic events played havoc with river courses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of them disappeared. Celebrated as ‘Sarasvati’ in the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata, this river was rediscovered in the early nineteenth century through topographic explorations by British officials. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRecently, geological and climatological studies have probed its evolution and disappearance, while satellite imagery has traced the river’s buried courses and isotope analyses have dated ancient waters still stored under the Thar Desert.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the same Northwest, the subcontinent’s first urban society—the Indus civilization—flourished and declined. But it was not watered by the Indus alone: since Aurel Stein’s expedition in the 1940s, hundreds of Harappan sites have been identified in the now dry Sarasvati’s basin. The rich Harappan legacy in technologies, arts and culture sowed the seeds of Indian civilization as we know it now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing from recent research in a wide range of disciplines, this book discusses differing viewpoints and proposes a harmonious synthesis—a fascinating tale of exploration that brings to life the vital role the ‘lost river of the Indian desert’ played before its waters gurgled to a stop.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContents\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePreface \u003cbr\u003ePrologue \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart I: THE LOST SARASVATI: \u003cbr\u003e1. The 'Lost River of the Indian Desert \u003cbr\u003e2. The Mighty Sarasvati \u003cbr\u003e3. New Light on an Ancient River \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart II: INDIA'S FIRST CIVILIZATION: \u003cbr\u003e4. A Great Leap Backward \u003cbr\u003e5. The Indus Cities \u003cbr\u003e6. From the Indus to the Sarasvati \u003cbr\u003e7. New Horizons \u003cbr\u003e8. 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Mitter, affectionately known as Feluda, along with his loyal cousin Topshe and the unforgettable Jatayu.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is a carefully selected collection of seven memorable adventures. Spanning different periods of the detective's career, the volume includes mysteries set in Darjeeling, Gangtok, Kolkata, and beyond, showcasing the range and brilliance of Ray's storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmong the stories are \u003cstrong\u003eDanger in Darjeeling\u003c\/strong\u003e, Feluda's very first published case; \u003cstrong\u003eTrouble in Gangtok\u003c\/strong\u003e, a suspenseful investigation set amid the breathtaking landscapes of Sikkim; \u003cstrong\u003eThe Anubis Mystery\u003c\/strong\u003e, involving a stolen Egyptian artifact; and \u003cstrong\u003eThe Gold Coins of Jehangir\u003c\/strong\u003e, where history and mystery intertwine. 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