Women authors dominate shortlist for 2023 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize

New Delhi, Nov 21 (PTI) Non-fiction books that look into different aspects of Indian modern history, including the role of women as 'founding mothers' of the republic and Delhi's transformation following partition and independence are among those shortlisted for the sixth Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize (KCBP).

Achyut Chetan's 'Founding Mothers of the Indian Republic', Rotem Geva's 'Delhi Reborn: Partition and Nation Building in India’s Capital', and Taylor C. Sherman's 'Nehru's India: A History in Seven Myths' have been chosen 'for the insights they are able to provide in a thoughtful synthesis of history and contemporary relevance'.

Other books that have made it to the shortlist are 'Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover: The Many Lives of Agyeya' by Akshaya Mukul and 'Land, Guns, Caste, Woman: Memoirs of a Lapsed Revolutionary' by Gita Ramaswamy.

The Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Book Prize recognises 'excellence in non-fiction about India published in the previous calendar year by writers of all nationalities'.

Established in 2018, the book prize carries a cash award of Rs 15 lakhs and a citation.

The shortlist was selected by a Jury, including political scientist Niraja Gopal Jayal (chair of the book prize), historian Srinath Raghavan, columnist-writer Navtej Sarna, lawyer Rahul Matthan, columnist-writer Yamini Aiyar, and entrepreneur Manish Sabharwal.

'Each book on the Longlist presented important insights on the India in which we live, and deciding on a final selection was a difficult task. The five books finally selected in the Shortlist illuminate our understanding of how the nation and its citizens have come to be,' the Jury said in a statement.

Last year, Shekhar Pathak won the KCBP for his environmental history 'The Chipko Movement: A People’s History', translated from Hindi by Manisha Chaudhry (Permanent Black).

The winner for this year's book prize will be announced on December 1. PTI MAH MG MG