Maulana Daud’s Candayan: A Critical Study

Maulana Daud’s Candayan: A Critical Study

By- Naseem A. Hines


Candayan is the pioneer work in a series of Sufi love-narratives, the Masnavis, composed in India. The Indo-Sufi Masnavi genre continued to flourish for over 500 years, resulting in a substantial volume of every rich literature. Candayan also served as a model for subsequent Masnavis, such as Kutuban’s Mrgavati and Jayasi’s Padmavat.

In the Mahakoshal region of Madhya Pradesh, Canaini, a pastoral folk-tale also known as Lorikayan, was very popular. Maulana Daud based his Candayan on this oral epic. Lorik lives in Govar, a town on the banks of the Ganges river, with his wife Maina. One day he catches a glimpse of Canda, the princess of Govar, and falls in love with her. Canda also loves Lorik, and both elope to be able to live together.

After many adventures, Lorik and Canda return to Govar to live with Lorik’s family.

Until recently it was believed that the Sufi love narratives of India were substandard works, not quite representative of the Indian morals, and did not meet the Indian literary standards.

Consequently, for years, the Hindi Masnavi literature remained neglected. This study opens a window into the true nature of the Masnavi, and invites the reader to take a new look at the Indo-Sufi Masnavi genre and determine its rightful place in the history of Hindi literature.




Naseem A. Hines teaches Urdu-Hindi languages and Literatures in the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies at Harvard University. Her articles, fiction, and English translations of Urdu poetry have been published in a number of American and International Publications. She is now working on bringing out a Critical Edition of Candayan and its English translations.




ISBN 978-81-7304-619-0 2009 256p. Rs.645/ Pounds 45


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Mapping Criminal Justice Delivery in India: Towards Development of an Index

Mapping Criminal Justice Delivery in India: Towards Development of an Index

By- Pramod Kumar and Rainuka Dagar


Globalization and economic reforms process has changed the policing terrain. With the threat posed by terrorism, globalization of rights and crime, resurgence and reconfiguration of identity markets, the principles and scope of criminal justice system have to be redefined. It is, therefore, essential to address the fear and risk of crime, improve provisions for the security of individuals and their living environment by creating effective justice institutions and mechanisms that aim at the creation of a crime-free society. It is in this backdrop that the present work has given primacy to human rights and fair delivery of justice.

This instrument provides a framework to strengthen the delivery of justice. It uses an inclusive approach and links local cultural needs of justice with global standards of human rights. The criminal justice system is viewed holistically. The institutions of the police, the courts and the prisons are taken as part of the system performing specialized functions. The purpose of this mapping is to find out, how far the criminal justice system is accessible, effective and accountable. It also intends to capture the level of safety and security enjoyed by the citizens and the nature of access to justice across religion, race, caste and religion. This has been measured with the help of multiple indicators including those from the supply and demand side along with process indicators to capture a rounded view of policy progress.



Pramod Kumar is currently Director, Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigrah. He is on the Board of Directors of Global Altus Justice Alliance, The Hague. He has been a recipient of the Homi Bhabha Fellowship in 1988.

Rainuka Dagar is Regional Representative of the Altus Global Alliance in the Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh.





ISBN 978-81-7304-791-6 2009 278p. Rs.695/ Pounds 45


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Making of the Historian: J.S. Grewal

Making of the Historian: J.S. Grewal

By- Indu Banga in association with Karamjit K. Malhotra


This volume has been prepared in connection with an international seminar on ‘The State of Sikh and Punjab Historical Studies since Independence’ at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar in March 2009. Since Professor J.S. Grewal’s work touches upon nearly all the major aspects in the field, to suggest future directions of research each theme is approached through a critical assessment of his work and its comparison with other major writers.

The Themes covered in the seminar include the treatment of Sikh movement, study of Guru Granth Sahib, Sikh polity, martyrdom, caste, gender and sacred space, Sikh literature from the seventeenth to the early nineteenth century, the issue of Sikh identity, contemporary controversies in Sikh studies, general histories of the Sikhs, study of the Punjab region, treatment of colonial and contemporary Punjab, historical study of Punjabi literature, and methodology of history.

Indu Banga is Professor of History at the Panjab University, Chandigarh.





ISBN 978-81-7304-828-9 2009 80p. Rs.250/ Pounds 15


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Local Government in India: Policy and Practice: With Special Reference to a Field Study of Decentralization in Kerala

Local Government in India: Policy and Practice: With Special Reference to a Field Study of Decentralization in Kerala

By-, Rashmi Sharma


This book examines the development of panchayati raj policy in India and analyses the actual functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). In this analysis, panchayati raj is seen, not as a stand alone, static phenomenon, but is understood, on the one hand against the unique Indian sociopolitical context that has shaped it, and on the other, as a synamic process that varies spatially and temporally. The scrutiny is comprehensive: it includes the dynamics of policy formulation, i.e. the stated and unstated reasons for decentralization, as well outcomes, i.e. the organizational characteristics of PRIs and their larger impact. On the basis of this analysis, an attempt is made to assess the potential of decentralization in India, and the way in which it can be maximised.

There is a special focus on the experiences of states that have been leaders in decentralization, i.e. in the pre-Seventy Third Constitutional Amendment scenario, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and West Bengal, and in the post-constitutional amendment setting, the experience of Kerala, the most extensive so far in terms of financial devolution and highly ‘evolved’ in terms of processes. The analysis of Kerala’s decentralization is based on a detailed field study undertaken in 2003-4, which goes beyond the initial policy initiative phase (which has formed the subject of other books about Kerala), and looks at the actual functioning on PRIs in the field eight years later.



Rashmi Sharma, a member of the Indian Administrative Service, has an abiding interest in governance in India, and in changing it for the better.



ISBN 978-81-7304-805-0 2009 278p. Rs.675/ Pounds 45


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Invisible Women, Visible Histories: Gender, Society and Polity in North India (Seventh to Twelfth Century AD)

Invisible Women, Visible Histories: Gender, Society and Polity in North India

(Seventh to Twelfth Century AD)

By- Devika Rangachari

This book examines certain gendered aspects of the early medieval period in north India (between the seventh to twelfth centuries AD) through a study of prominent – but representative – regional kingdoms located in Kashmir, Kanauj, and across Bengal and Bihar. By examining important epigraphic and literary sources pertaining to these polities in as comprehensive a manner as possible, it shows that gender is a cardinal angle from which to view this period and, additionally, that the same set of sources can yield differing interpretations. It also highlights the indifference of most secondary sources towards gender and related issues. The book, therefore, strives to address a lacuna in the historical reconstruction of the society and polity of this time-span.

Although early medieval Kashmir, Kanauj and Bengal-Bihar are linked by their status as important regional powers in this period and by their close political interactions, the book shows that the role and status of women differed considerably according to their regional contexts. The picture, therefore, is not a unified one, thereby stressing the fact that sweeping statements on women cannot be made to apply to early medieval north India as a whole - as has hitherto been the trend. The problems and possibilities involved in a gender analysis of this sort that examines the role and presence of women vis-à-vis men is highlighted, in the process. Areas with the potential for future investigation are also indicated. The pivotal importance of gender in any historical reconstruction of the early medieval period in north India is thereby underscored.

Devika Rangachari graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and did her doctorate in history from the University of Delhi. She has published several articles in distinguished academic journals and is also an award-winning children’s writer.

ISBN  978-81-7304-808-1    2009   532p.   Rs.1295/ Pounds 70

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Indian Health Landscapes under Globalization

Indian Health Landscapes under Globalization

By- Alain Vaguet (ed.)


This volume brings together a varied array of perspectives on contemporary health and health care in India. Since Independence, in spite of reduced budget, India has been able to achieve a notable improvement in the life expectancy of the population. After the recent liberalization of the economy. Whether the government can safeguard the autonomy of public health, promote efficiency and escape the invariable commodification of health services is the question this very timely volume raises.

French and Indian geographers, sociologists, economists, lawyers, make use of a global perspective to introduce the outcome of the process of globalization in the field of Indian health systems in this volume. This systematic examination of cost and benefits seems a good indicator of the level of integration of a rapidly developing country. The authors have clearly stated their preferences, but the comparative studies will enable the reader to obtain a balanced point of view.

Finally, working within the field of health, viewed as a key component of the state and society mutations under globalization processes, allowed the authors to demonstrate its risks, as well as its advantages through vital case studies. The major changes can only take place when the global and the national interact in the same direction, otherwise the indigenization of global process will get subsumed under societal flux.


Alain Vaguet is an Associate Professor of Geography at University of Upper Normandy, Rouen, France. He has specialized in the field of Health Geography of India and Europe and is presently advisory editor of Social Science and Medicine.



ISBN 978-81-7304-722-0 2009 386p. Rs.950/ Pounds 60


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Health Sector Reforms in India

Health Sector Reforms in India

By- Girish Kumar (ed.)

The health sector reforms initially touted as the World Bank’s prescription and hence roundly rejected by the concerned scholars, have slowly but gradually started gaining grounds in India. Indeed, some of the reform measures adopted in a few states had preceded 1991 economic reforms.

The objective of this book is to capture the various strands of reforms which had started unfolding since the late 1980s itself. Following the case study method, this volume also looks into the functioning of Rogi Kalyan Samities (RKS) and lady health volunteers, both adapted as critical components of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), a flagship programme of the UPA government which aims at injecting a new life to the public health care system by strengthening the health infrastructure and providing a functional link between the community and the hospitals.

Not only does this volume draw on experiences of some of the states but by offering empirical evidences on some of the successful initiatives it enriches our understanding of the impact of reform measures.

Girish Kumar is Senior Fellow, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi.




ISBN 978-81-7304-811-1 2009 270p. Rs.695/ Pounds 45


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