The true story of a fourteenth-century traveler, whose journeys through the Islamic world and beyond were extraordinary for his time. In 1325, when Ibn Battuta was just twenty-one, he bid farewell to his parents in Tangier, Morocco, and embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca. It was thirty years before he returned home, having seen much of the world. In this book he recalls his amazing journey and the fascinating people, cultures and places he encountered. After his pilgrimage to Mecca, Ibn Battuta was filled with a desire to see more of the world. He traveled extensively, throughout Islamic lands and beyond — from the Middle East to Africa to Europe to Asia. Travelers were uncommon in those days, and when Ibn Battuta arrived in a new city he would introduce himself to the governor or religious leaders, and they in turn would provide him with gifts, a place to stay and study, and sometimes they even gave him money to continue his journey. Some of the highlights of his travels included seeing the stunning Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem; witnessing the hundreds of women who gathered to pray at the mosque in Shiraz; visiting the public baths in Baghdad; and meeting the Mogul emperor of India, who made him a judge and eventually sent him to China as an ambassador. Ibn Battuta kept a diary of his travels, and even though he lost it many times and had to recall and rewrite what he had seen, he kept a remarkable record of his years away. His adventurous spirit, keen mind and meticulous observations, as retold here by Fatima Sharafeddine, give us a remarkable picture of what it was like to be a traveler nearly seven hundred years ago. The book is beautifully illustrated by Intelaq Mohammed Ali, with maps and travel routes forming the backdrop for many richly painted scenes. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

A thorough and incisive introduction to contemporary India The story of the forging of India, the world's largest democracy, is a rich and inspiring one. This volume, a sequel to the best-selling India's Struggle for Independence, analyses the challenges India has faced and the successes it has achieved, in the light of its colonial legacy and century-long struggle for freedom. The book describes how the Constitution was framed, as also how the Nehruvian political and economic agenda and basics of foreign policy were evolved and developed. It dwells on the consolidation of the nation, examining contentious issues like party politics in the Centre and the states, the Punjab problem, and anti-caste politics and untouchability. This revised edition offers a scathing analysis of the growth of communalism in India and the use of state power in furthering its cause. It also documents the fall of the National Democratic Alliance in the 2004 General Elections, the United Progressive Alliance's subsequent rise to power and the Indo-US Nuclear Deal that served to unravel the political consensus at the centre. Apart from detailed analyses of Indian economic reforms since 1991 and wide-ranging land reforms and the Green Revolution, this new edition includes an overview of the Indian economy in the new millennium. These, along with objective assessments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, constitute a remarkable overview of a nation on the move.

IAS is one of the most sought after career these days. For an aspirant to be successful in this exam, he must have a thorough knowledge of India - social, political, economical, geographical, international climate. Students need to start well in advance such that they not only attain the fundamental knowledge but also gain the ability to generate their opinion and ideas about a topic. The IAS Foundation Book is an attempt in the same direction. Undergraduate Students and class 11/ 12 students who aspire for this career can start with this book. The book provides 175+ articles from diverse areas like History, Geography of the World , Polity Governance, Constitution, Social Justice, International relations, Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security, Disaster Management, Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude. These articles not just provide you the complete update on the topic but will also guide you to analyse and explore the various issues associated with it. The articles are followed by exercises constituting vocabulary questions, comprehension questions, related general awareness questions and opinion creation/ analytical questions. The book provides answers to the 1st three type of questions. The opinion creation/ analytical questions are open-ended and requires a lot of thinking and analysis before answering. It is one of the most powerful book that will expose you to the most sensitive issues, ideas, events, people or places.

"Acaranga Sutra" from Hermann Jacobi. German Indologist (1850-1937).