Publications & Resources

Our faculty, students and researchers work together everyday to contribute to a better world by grappling with urgent problems we are facing in India. We conduct rigorous work to produce high quality learning resources and publications to contribute to public discourse and social change. Here, we feature a sample from our work for everyone to access. You can explore featured resources, policies, and the latest publications from the University. 

To explore all the work of our University, please visit our publications repository.

  • Essays on Transformation and Permanence 13 march
    Published
    Authors
    • School of Policy & Governance

    Abstract

    The Azim Premji University has been encouraging the expression of diverse and disparate views on a variety of subjects in the past too. Over the last two decades of its existence, the Azim Premji Foundation under which the University operates has been consistently focusing on its vision of contributing towards a more just, equitable, humane, and sustainable society through extensive on-the-groundwork across the country as well as through its partners. In this context we may venture to say that the present collection of essays is an expression of that focus, while encouraging views and counterviews on various perspectives on the national endeavour, with the goal of working towards the Foundation’s vision.

    Amidst the Corona crisis of 2020 to 2022, another compendium of essays entitled Understanding Post-Covid-19 Challenges in India had been published in March 2022. The essays in that collection too had looked at certain key domains such as Health, School Education, Impact of Covid on vulnerable groups, urban development, the systems of recording deaths etc. While that collection tried to document how the nation navigated through a short period of the toughest challenge, this collection tries to offer a snapshot of more than 75 years of history
    since Independence.

    It is hoped that this collection of essays will encourage its readers to think about the myriad activities that India as a nation has undertaken in its unending search for building a better society, the complexities that it has to encounter and the challenges that it has had to overcome, in trying to achieve that objective. The essays here are collected over a year’s time following the 75th year of Independence, and as such some of the essays might not have captured the latest developments in the themes that they focus on. The readers’ responses are welcome.

    Editors:

    CK Mathew

    A Narayana

    More →

  • Book

    English Romantic Literature

    in Cambridge University Press

    English Romantic Literature
    Published
    Authors

    Abstract

    This book analyses the key intellectual debates and sociopolitical and cultural events that shaped writings in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England. It approaches Romantic Literature’ as a literary-historical term and adds a broad range of texts to those traditionally studied — bio-notes, letters, pamphlets, advertisements in periodicals, political cartoons and satirical prints, to name a few — to allow a sense of this period to emerge. This book will serve as a useful aid while preparing a syllabus and lesson plan for teaching English Romantic literature.

    More →

  • A History of Economic Policy in India
    Published
    Authors

    Abstract

    Economic Policy in Independent India provides an immersive, accessible yet rigorous understanding of the Indian economy through a political economy analysis of economic policies. It provides a birds-eye view of the politics, context, and ideas that shaped major economic policies in independent India and argues that they are the product of crisis, coalitions, and contingency — not necessarily choice. Each chapter focuses on specific political regimes: Colonial Rule, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, liberalisation under coalition governments, the UPA Government, and the NDA Government. The book evaluates how well a government executed its policies based on the economic and political constraints it faced, rather than economic outcomes. Using theories to make sense of the economy, political ideology, historical conditions, and international context, the book’s framework provides multiple perspectives and analyses economic policies as an outcome of interactions between dynamics in the economy.

    More →

  • Reviewing the Republic Cover
    Published
    Authors

    Abstract

    The Constitution of India has been amended over a hundred times in the last seven decades. Yet, its basic principles remain supreme. For young students of India’s growth and progress, a deeper understanding of its Articles is essential. The maturing of our democracy and the deeper social consciousness pervading our people, owes much to the manner in which we have been guided by its timeless precepts. A reading of Reviewing the Republic’ will help any reader appreciate how our Constitution came into being and its powerful impact on the daily life of our citizens. 

    More →

  • Book

    Chasing Soppu

    in Azim Premji University

    Chasing Soppu Cover
    Published
    Authors

    Abstract

    Bas saaru, Uppina saaru and massoppu are curries made of mixed greens, and are staples in the homes of Bengaluru residents. But these greens are not always bought in the market. They are also gathered from sidewalks, little strips of soil beside the road, drains, and around lakes. The act of gathering such edible plant species from private or public spaces in the city is called urban foraging, and it is a common practice across the globe.

    In Bengaluru, it is mainly middle-aged or older women from low-income backgrounds who forage. These women are vital knowledge holders and experts on the local wild plants around them. They know what parts of the plants are used for food, medicine, or cultural uses, and which is the best season to forage. They also have delicious recipes, of curries, chutneys, and pickles that have been passed down through the generations.

    Sadly, as the city has developed and urbanised, these foragers are losing access to the spaces where these greens were found. 

    Yet, so many people still forage for wild plants across the city. It is a dying art, one which needs to be repopularised.

    Chasing Soppu is a guide to wild edible plants of Bengaluru. In this book, we provide an introduction to 53 forageable species in the city. For each, we provide a guide for identification. We also share a collection of local recipes, shared by women foragers we spoke to, which can be used to cook these plants. In addition, we share some home remedies as well. 

    More →

  • EDC cover
    Published
    Authors

      Abstract

      The Historical Evolution of the District Officer: From Early Days to 1947, is the first of five volumes written by Dr CK Mathew (Fmr. Former Chief Secretary, Rajasthan). Popularly known as district collector/​deputy commissioner/​district magistrate, the district officer is a critical element in the hierarchy of India’s governance structure. Originally, it was created for revenue collection by the British East India Company and extended in its scope over time. In post-independence India, it mutated to become the administrative head of every district, addressing grievances and implementing public welfare programmes. 

      More →

    • Gunda thopes cover
      Published
      Authors

      Abstract

      India is rapidly urbanising, but our cities are facing an environmental crisis. Whenever there is any development, for building a road, a flyover or a metro, the first casualties are trees. This story is our attempt to communicate the work we have done on gunda thopes to a wider public, hoping to partner with them to protect the city’s environment. 

      More →