Books That Matter

Ghazala Wahab

When the media becomes a tool of government propaganda, independent journalists, academics and activists become reporters—they bear witness and record history. In the year that saw despair and loss of hope on multiple fronts, many books stepped up to offer solidarity; almost like comrades-in arms, holding vigil and showing the other side to those who believe that truth is what the powerful tells. These books not only stirred the conscience but also provoked thinking.

In the sequence of their publication, here is the list of four books which I believe must be read by all conscientious citizens, in India and abroad. Maybe it’s a mere coincidence that three of these books are written by women. Or perhaps, more women care about creating a fair, equitable and peaceful future.

Alpa Shah’s The Incarceration: Bhima Koregaon and the Search for Democracy in India came out in March and the first thing that occurred to me was how brave she was to write a book like this. The entire Bhima Koregaon (BK) case was woven with falsehoods and fantasy by the State, which used technology to plant evidence on the unsuspecting. The creation of the BK conspiracy was aided by a complicit administration and media. The judiciary either believed this falsehood or chose to ignore the truth, depending upon what was convenient at what point. Shah’s narrative is not just a chronicle of innocent people indicted by a ruthless State, it is also an illumination o