Synopsis The author has a great belief in the remarkable continuity and vitality of Indian social system and its resilience in the face of change. The book is a colourful, readable and comprehensive introduction to modern India. The author explains its long-lived and little understood caste and class systems, its venerable faith and extraordinary ethnic diversity, its history "The Jewel in the Crown" of British imperialism and its post-independence career as a major agricultural and industrial nation. India demonstrates how and why it remains the largest and most enduring democracy in the third world. The book is comprehensive, provocative and fascinating and, thus, essential reading. It is strongly recommended to students of the economics and politics, academics, legislators and general readers.