I grew up in small towns in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra - places like Akola, Betul, Wardha, Jhansi; I thought the rise of provincial India would be an interesting subject to tackle. Pankaj Mishra akolabetulgrow Change image and share on social
In 1853, American warships bullied Japan out of centuries of virtual isolation and into the modern world. The threat of force compelled Japan, like India and China before it, to accept trade agreements that were economically ruinous and eroded national sovereignty. Pankaj Mishra acceptagreementamerican share on social
In a democratic age, you can't buck demography - except through civil war. Pankaj Mishra agebuckcivil Change image and share on social
Thomas Friedman's 'The World is Flat' sold more copies in India than in the U.K. The market for go-getting business books or wonkish tomes by corporate moguls posing as philosopher kings has grown dramatically in modernising China and India. Pankaj Mishra bookbusinesschina share on social
Democracy, loudly upheld as a cure for much of the ailing world, has proved no guarantor of political wisdom, even if it remains the least bad form of government. Pankaj Mishra ailbadcure Change image and share on social
For boys like me, in north Indian railway towns in the '70s and '80s, where nothing much happened apart from the arrival and departure of trains from big cities, the Soviet Union alone appeared to promise an escape from our limited, dusty world. Pankaj Mishra 70s80sappear share on social
Local markets for literary fiction remain underdeveloped; the metropolis often holds out the only real possibility of a professional writing career. Pankaj Mishra careerfictionhold Change image and share on social
So much of western self-perception and intellectual worldview has been shaped by the moral rhetoric of the Cold War, the discourse in which communism featured as a clear enemy, determined to rule the world. Pankaj Mishra clearcoldcommunism share on social
In December 2004, I travelled on the road from Uzbekistan across the Oxus River on which the first Soviet convoys had rolled into Afghanistan 25 years before. Pankaj Mishra afghanistanconvoydecember Change image and share on social
As an Indian, you feel easily connected with certain histories in places like Indonesia, where one sees, because of the presence of the Hindu-Buddhist past, Hindus still living there or Muslims performing rituals that are instantly familiar. Pankaj Mishra buddhistconnecteasily share on social