Foundations of Misery focuses on the blunders of the Nehruvian era, many of which still affect and vitiate India’s present. It is hoped that once there is an enlightened understanding of the past, free from the pervasive fiction, India would be better able to tackle its present and future. The book attempts to unravel the mystery and the truth in-depth on why India remains a poor, pathetic, third-rate, third-world country. How’s it that India got so left behind? What was it that India did, or did not do, after independence, that everything is so abysmal and pathetic? Why an overwhelming majority of millions of Indians continue to be condemned to a life of unmitigated misery? What are the foundations of this misery?
And why all this unmitigated misery despite the overwhelming advantage of India as a nation with first-rate people, plentiful natural resources, grand civilisational heritage, rich culture and languages, unmatched ethical and spiritual traditions, and relatively much better position in all fields—infrastructure, trained manpower, bureaucracy, and army—at the time of independence compared to many east-Asian nations who have since overtaken us? Why did India fail to leverage such rich assets of a gifted country?
Incidents, information and revelations would shock readers and make them exclaim: “Oh God, was this so? I didn't know!” Not that the facts or revelations are new; only they are not commonly known.
The book will appeal to a wide cross-section of people, especially those who are concerned about the framing and implementation of right policies for India’s development.
Dr. Bishun Kumar shares his academic pursuits of knowledge and thoughts as Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Babu Banarasi Das University, Lucknow with a Doctoral degree on Mulk Raj Anand from University of Lucknow. Besides editing the present anthology, he has also edited Major Voices in New Literatures in English (in collaboration with Dr. Neha Arora), published from Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd., and Discursive Passages: An Anthology of Diaspora Criticism, Volume I & II (in collaboration with Dr. Ajay K. Chaubey, Asst. Professor, NIT Uttarakhand), published from Yking Books, Jaipur.
Dr. Bishun Kumar is also Assistant Editor of The SPIEL, a Society for the Promotion of Indian English Literature and is a member of many research and academic bodies. He has published many research papers and critical essays in reputed international journals and anthologies.
Dr. Neha Arora shares her knowledge as Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer. She has achieved her Doctoral degree on Dalit Literature from University of Lucknow. Besides editing the present volume, she has also co-edited Major Voices in New Literatures in English, and has published papers on varied themes, ranging from Dalit Literature to African and Indian English Literature in reputed national and international journals. Dr. Neha Arora is also Associate Editor of The Expression: An International Bi-Monthly Multidisciplinary e-Journal and member of Editorial Boards of many academic bodies such as Indian Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies and Alchemist Journal of Humanities.
