Nandita Haksar's Top Ten Reads
Human-rights lawyer, activist and teacher, Nandita Haksar is the author of 25 books. Her latest, Shooting the Sun: Why Manipur Was Engulfed by Violence and the Government Remained Silent, looks at the complex identity politics surrounding the ethnic clashes that broke out in Manipur in 2023
Through the Looking Glass By Lewis Carroll, Fingerprint!, Rs.109
This children’s book is the most quoted by judges and jurists, especially Humpty Dumpty’s famous statement: “... it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” It is even called ‘Humpty Dumpty Jurisprudence’. This book is a delightful reading in so many ways, but for me it is the unfailing antidote when I am feeling depressed with the way the criminal-justice system works; or does not.
The Trial By Franz Kafka, Penguin Modern Classics, Rs. 272
This novel tells the story of a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader. Published in 1925, Kafka wrote this novel from 1914 to 1915. The story continues to resonate in an age of UAPA-like laws.
Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich, Random House, Rs. 968
This book captures in the minutest details of what it meant to live in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR). Writes Alexievich, “I’m piecing together the history of ‘domestic’, ‘interior’ socialism. As it existed in a person’s soul ... I’ve been always been drawn to this miniature expanse: one person, individual. It’s where everything really happens.”
Through the Looking Glass By Lewis Carroll, Fingerprint!, Rs.109
This children’s book is the most quoted by judges and jurists, especially Humpty Dumpty’s famous statement: “... it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” It is even called ‘Humpty Dumpty Jurisprudence’. This book is a delightful reading in so many ways, but for me it is the unfailing antidote when I am feeling depressed with the way the criminal-justice system works; or does not.
The Trial By Franz Kafka, Penguin Modern Classics, Rs. 272
This novel tells the story of a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader. Published in 1925, Kafka wrote this novel from 1914 to 1915. The story continues to resonate in an age of UAPA-like laws.
Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich, Random House, Rs. 968
This book captures in the minutest details of what it meant to live in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR). Writes Alexievich, “I’m piecing together the history of ‘domestic’, ‘interior’ socialism. As it existed in a person’s soul ... I’ve been always been drawn to this miniature expanse: one person, individual. It’s where everything really happens.”
Winnie-the-Pooh By A. A. Milne, Penguin, Rs. 125
The apparently simple story about Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends—Piglet, Owl, Tigger, Kanga, Roo and the ever-depressed Eeyore—have endured as the unforgettable creations of A. A. Milne and Ernest Shephard.And as Pooh says: “I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.”
China in 10 Words: Essays By Yu Hua, translated by Allan H. Barr, Anchor, Rs. 809
Yu Hua calls this book fiction but in fact it is memoir, self-scrutiny and cultural analysis of China. In the introduction, he writes, “When ... I write of China’s pain, I am registering my pain too, because China’s pain is mine.” In 10 simple chapters entitled ‘People’, ‘Leader’, ‘Reading’, ‘Writing’, ‘Lu Xun’, ‘Revolution’, ‘Disparity’, ‘Grassroots’, ‘Bamboozle’ and ‘Copy-cat’ he explores the tensions, contradictions and suffering of the people.
The Vagina Monologues By Eve Enseler, Virago, Rs. 465
This book says all the things every woman has felt and not dared articulate. It is a wonderful, witty, wise and painful celebration of women’s sexuality and so much more.
Call Me American: A Memoir By Abdi NorIftin, Vintage Books, Rs. 377
This is an extraordinary story of a refugee who made it to America. This book captures the simplicity and beauty of the lives of Somalian people before they were caught up in a bitter civil war.
No Friend but the Mountains: The True Story of an Illegally Imprisoned Refugee By Behrouz Boochani, Picador, Rs. 461
Written from Australia’s notorious prison on Manus island with a hidden mobile phone, this book has the force of poetry, of the hard-hitting reality of refugees trying to escape persecution in their country, and of the utter callousness of the rich countries.
Frankenstein in Baghdad By Ahmed Saadwi, PanMacmillan, Rs. 599
Winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, this novel captures the hybrid war in Iraq with dark humour and dissection in a manner only an Iraqi experiencing the horrors of the war can do.
The Penguin Book of Socialist Verse Edited by Alan Bold, Penguin
I almost stopped reading poetry after I became a lawyer, but this book has been my constant companion. Within it are old socialist poems which call out the vulgarity and insensitivity of the rich and give hope for a better future. These poets were a part of my growing up years: Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, Nâzim Hikmet, and so many more. I quote their lines in my writings, and often go back to them to keep hope alive.