Routledge Revivals: The True India (1939): A Plea for Understanding

First published in 1939, this book sets out to refute some of the ‘unjust charges laid at India’s door’ and correct the ‘false impressions’ that prevailed at the time. The author argues that the distorted view of the social conditions in India in the contemporary press and literature were detrimental to the relationships between East and West. Attempting to give a picture of the true state of affairs, they show that Hinduism was reforming from within and that it was unjust to still equate it with earlier periods. The Depressed classes, women’s rights, child marriage, Caste and Kalighat are all examined in detail. The book will be interest to students of colonial India and social history.