WINNERS. CHAMPIONS. ACHIEVERS. THE PRIDE OF THE NATION. Enterprising Indians continue to illuminate our present just as they have lit up our past with their stellar accomplishments and achievements. The Limca Book of Records, with curated records of more than 30 years, is a peerless platform to meet a host of them. Find out about our country's firsts and foremosts in every field of human endeavour, including structures, education, defence, government, science and technology, adventure, business, cinema, the natural world, literature and the arts, in India's only comprehensive book of records. This volume of superlatives brings you hundreds of impressive newly set records, reader-friendly infographics, charts and tables, more than 800 images and a wide range of absolutes - such as records for the longest, tallest, fastest and heaviest - that have endured across decades. As a tribute to 75 years of Independence, this edition also carries a special section, along with fascinating facts highlighting India at her best throughout the book. Plus, you can stay updated with a chapter on Indian states and Union Territories, and a recap of the 2022 Commonwealth Games! Be informed. Be proud. Most of all, be inspired!

Providing a wealth of in-depth knowledge of forest ecosystems, this new volume explores a collection of important topics on forest community dynamics. It looks at the diversity of forest ecosystems and explores such aspects as forest products in enhancing local livelihoods and community participation, forage production, forest conservation and sustainable management, regeneration patterns, seed handling, and more. Chapters in Diversity and Dynamics in Forest Ecosystems present new research on forest products, livelihood generation mechanisms of forest-dependent communities, utilization patterns of untapped resources from forests, and the structure of different ecosystems from the tropical to the temperate landscape. This book also features different drivers of community dynamics, such as the role of seed handling in forests, the influence of altitudinal variations, and protected and community-conserved forests on the forest diversity. Chapters also consider the role of non-timber forest products and their significance in livelihood diversification for tribal communities and forage crop genetic resources, and forest resource extraction by forest fringe dwellers. Also explored are aspects of soil organic carbon in agroforestry systems and integrated approaches of sustainable agroforestry development in diverse forest ecosystems. This edition also examines the vegetation structure and regeneration aspects of timberline zone, including diversity of herbaceous flora along the altitudinal gradient. The abundance of in-depth knowledge of the diversity and dynamics of forest ecosystems in this volume will be valuable in conservation and management of forests, which play an important role in the world environment. Forests are presently facing multiple disturbances, and this volume will help forestry professionals and others formulate further strategies to mitigate global climate change and other challenges.

‘A beautifully written, meticulously researched journey through time in Kashmir’ – Basharat Peer The very name Kashmir conjures up magical images, from the real garden paradise of Shalimar to Thomas Moore’s fantastic descriptions in “Lalla Rookh”. Recounting the story of this colourful and fascinating region as it appears in travel writing, literature, and historical works from ancient times to the present day, Travels in Kashmir offers a lively and comprehensive guide to a land little understood in the West. Beginning with an informal history of Kashmir – from the legends of the twelfth-century Kalhana to the accounts of British colonial rulers – the book brings together a wide variety of engaging travellers’ tales, reports, and descriptions that vividly illustrate the changing perceptions of the area – both Indian and European – throughout the years. Of particular interest is a section on the arts, crafts, and craftspeople of Kashmir, which focuses specifically on the shawl-weaving, carpet-making, and papier mâché works that have gained international renown. Throughout, Keenan proves a sharp as well as sympathetic observer with an eye for the amusing and the poignant, and the entertaining way she unfolds the story of Kashmir’s people, places, and crafts makes this a book that will be enjoyed by tourists, readers of travel writing, and anyone interested in one of the most unusual and beautiful places in the world.

This book is an effort to recall the life in Kashmir, a state under perpetual conflict. It is a saga of courage, betrayal, passion and hatred seen from the eyes of a young soldier. In this nature’s paradise, is a human hell where the lives are lost daily in pursuit of Ideology. Armed by own set of Justifications India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris battle each other to no end in sight. Zealous young men continue to die for a cause diseased by treachery and celebrated by heroism. The territorial desire of Pakistan has cost dearly to the generations stifled in this conflict. This fight has devastated many a homes with ever widening chasm and deepening scars. Punctuated by blood curdling violence, Kashmiris are prisoners of a historic mistake. In the ongoing series of Pakistan’s grand design to wrest control of this state, a proxy war was unleashed by them in 1989. This war still continues as I write.