I wish I had known about the existence of this book during my school years. History was one of my favourite subjects and reading this simultaneously would have put so many things into perspective for me. While I understand that a sizeable part of the narrative is biased and comes from Nehru’s personal point of view, reading it was a spiffing experience. (Nehru’s enormous vocabulary inspired me to upgrade mine)

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, wrote ‘The Discover of India’ during 1942-1945 while incarcerated at Ahmednagar fort. He is a well-read man and it is obvious from the way he used his knowledge of the Vedas, Upanishads, and other available literature at the time of writing the book to bring a unique outlook to India’s freedom struggle. I have always admired our freedom fighters who selflessly dedicated their lives to our people. But I seldom had the opportunity to understand the struggle for freedom through their eyes.

He talks about everything starting from ancient India’s Indus Valley Civilization to the current (the 1940s) struggle for freedom. He goes into detail about religion, politics, art and culture. The most striking part of the book, apart from Nehru’s impeccable vocabulary, is how progressive his ideologies were. He was truly a man born ahead of his time.

I, as someone without any reservations, understand the mixed emotions that the author generates among the people. We blame him for the reservation system. We blame him for the inequalities. I read the book without any prejudice to the best of my ability.

Whether you are a history buff or not, this deserves a reading. It will surely leave an impact on you. If nothing, you will at least be left with knowledge about India’s freedom struggle. I do want to reiterate that this is a first-hand account of events by the author and may not be historically accurate.
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The purpose of this book is to provide Western readers with a broader and deeper understanding of Indian history, culture, and conditions. In addition it acquaints readers with the outlook and attitudes of India's leaders in the mid 20th century.

The fluidity of Nehru's writing takes your breath away. ( )

This is a very beautiful nationalistic treatise written by Jawaharlal Nehru while he was imprisoned in Ahmednagar fort. An impressionistic and romanticised work. The title “Discovery of India” reveals the orientalist nature of the work. Nehru approaches India’s past like an outsider. He wrote this book as his own attempt to “discover” India. What Nehru here was trying to do is to romanticise some part of the past as “the quintessential India”. To determine a cultural identity and identify himself with it. The search is for a timeless Indian culture. To rekindle the pride of a generation that suffered under the colonial yoke. The tone used in this book is to look at the Indian civilisation as something that has once been great but is now in degeneration.

I wouldn’t recommend this as a good text on history of India. This must rather be read as a work of literature that gives us interesting glimpses into the Indian past, as something that gives us a glimpse into the mind of a very learned man.
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This is a fascinating book. First off, I must say that the writing style is extremely fluid, and easy to follow. I also like the way in which Nehru has been injecting his own insights into India's development through the ages. It does give some insight into Nehru the man. His references to Jinnah as "Mr Jinnah" also, to me, give an indication of the formality of their relationship. He was clearly not a great admirer of Jinnah. Neither was he a great admirer of the British, and the way in which they pillaged India for their own economic gains.

The book, while being extremely interesting from an academic perspective with regards to India's ancient history, is much more fascinating in the way that it gives an insight into the times that Nehru lived in. History, seen from the eyes of a person who played such an influential role in shaping it, is truly fascinating.

I was thoroughly engrossed during the reading of this book, so much so that I could not lift my nose from the pages! ( )