       Thursday, August 04, 2011  Makers of Today's India- My 19
George Orwell:    Instead of recognizing the importance of
apocalyptic thinking, Mr. Landes argues, we prefer to posit a
common-sense world in which grand flights of imagination are
construed as outbursts of misguided enthusiasm. Most historians,
he says, make the same mistake. They view apocalyptic prophecy
as a kind of falsified madness that leaves little of importance
behind.  In fact, Mr. Landes says, the whole texture of our
lives is deeply affected by our response to both past
apocalyptic beliefs and current millennial aspirations. Nor is
apocalyptic frenzy limited to the religious sphere. It also
underlies the secular world of seemingly common-sense
understanding. (WSJ, July 28 2011)  Ramachandra Guha's book
"Makers of Modern India" was recently published.  It profiles
nineteen Indians whose ideas, according to the author, had a
defining impact on the formation and evolution of our Republic.
Here are my nineteen who were borne 1800 CE o