Defining India Through Their Eyes

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At the age of eleven, Amartya Sen saw a man bleed to death on his lap as a result of communal violence. At fifteen, Kailash Satyarthi became an outcast in his own family. After a series of super hits, Aamir Khan decided to turn his attention to bettering society. How did these personal incidents ultimately influence the history of a nation?

In this book, celebrated journalist Sonia Singh opens a window into the myriad worlds of stalwarts such as Raghuram Rajan, Sachin Tendulkar, Kamal Haasan, Nirmala Sitharaman and Arun Jaitley, among others.

Candid, chatty and engaging, Defining India, with its eminent cast of characters, takes us through moments that define the nation.

SONIA SINGH has been a journalist for the past twenty-seven years and is currently the editorial director of NDTV. Sonia has a post-graduate degree in English literature from St Stephen's College in New Delhi. Through her career, she has received various awards for her shows, The NDTV Dialogues and India Decides.

Reading is her passion and she has an unexplained fondness for Irish romantic novelists. She is the mother of three daughters, which according to her is 'the most difficult and rewarding job in the world'.

This book began because of a deep and abiding curiosity about T the many Indias that over a billion people live in. Yet, there are some moments that transcend all divides to leave a lasting impact on the psyche of one nation.

What are the defining moments in India's history in the twenty- first century and why? What changes did they bring about and how did they impact India?

As an observer and reporter of the changes in India for the last twenty-seven years, I set out to speak to the men and women who have been integral participants in different moments of contemporary India-what they felt at the time, their unique perspective and, most importantly, what drives them. While all of these men and women are leaders in their field and are icons in their own right, I wanted to explore what young Indians can learn from these people who have made history in so many ways.

Over the last year, I've had a series of rare conversations with extraordinary Indians who kindly agreed to share their views from their vantage points in history with me-they include three Bharat Ratnas and three Nobel Laureates, among others.