Shortlist for 'Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize' 2025 announced

"Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity" by author Manu Pillai, "Savarkar and the Making of Hindutva" by noted historian Janaki Bakhle, and "India's Near East: A New History" by academic Avinash Paliwal are among the five titles shortlisted for the prestigious Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2025, the New India Foundation announced on Thursday.

The book prize, instituted in 2018, recognises writers of all nationalities who have worked on any aspect of Indian history after Independence. The work can be originally written in English or translated into English. The winning author will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

Other titles that made it to the shortlist are "India's Forgotten Country: A View from the Margins" by Bela Bhatia and "Engineering a Nation: The Life and Career of M. Visvesvaraya" by Aparajith Ramnath.

The longlist was selected by the eminent jury, including chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group N Chandrasekaran, entrepreneur Manish Sabharwal, political scientist Niraja Gopal Jayal, historian Srinath Raghavan, partner trilegal Rahul Matthan, Ambassador Jawed Ashraf and Yamini Aiyar.

“This year's shortlist reflects the range and vitality of contemporary nonfiction in India. From biographies of pioneering figures to accounts exploring identity and belief to the workings of democracy and statecraft, these works offer fresh insights into the forces that continue to shape modern India.

"They remind us that truly understanding our nation requires following both -- the centres and the edges, the well-known and the forgotten. The shortlist stands as a testament to this richness and complexity," Matthan said in a statement.

The previous winners of the coveted book prize include Ashok Gopal for "A Part Apart: The Life and Thought of B.R. Ambedkar", Akshaya Mukul for "Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover: The Many Lives of Agyeya", and Shekhar Pathak for "The Chipko Movement: A People's History" (translated by Manisha Chaudhry).

The winners for this year will be announced on December 6.