The Discovery of India
Book by Jawaharlal Nehru
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Synopsis
The Discovery of India traces the journey of India from ancient history to the final years of the British Raj. Nehru draws on his knowledge of the Upanishads, Vedas, and textbooks on ancient history to present the development of India, beginning with the Indus Valley Civilization and continuing through socio-political transformations introduced by successive foreign invaders, culminating in the contemporary period of his time.
Imprisoned for his role in the Quit India Movement alongside other Indian leaders, Nehru used this period to document his reflections and understanding of India's past. The book provides a broad overview of Indian history, philosophy, and culture from the perspective of an Indian striving for independence.
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Other contributors
Nehru acknowledges that some content was influenced by his fellow prisoners at Ahmednagar Fort. He gives special mention to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Govind Ballabh Pant, Narendra Deva, and Asaf Ali. All eleven of his fellow prisoners were political detainees from across India with deep knowledge of the subjects discussed in the book. They also assisted in proofreading Nehru's work and offered creative suggestions.
Edition
The book was first published by Signet Press in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, in March 1946. It is currently published by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, with copyright held by his granddaughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi.
- The Discovery of India by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, ISBN 0-670-05801-7
- The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru (paperback, thirteenth edition), ISBN 0-19-562359-2
Adaptations
The book served as the basis for the 53-episode Indian television series Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), directed by Shyam Benegal and first broadcast on the state-run Doordarshan channel. A modified version of the book is taught as a Hindi supplementary text in the 8th grade in some Indian schools as part of the CBSE NCERT curriculum.