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Castes in India was basically a paper read by B. R. Ambedkar at a seminar in New York in May 1916. In the same year, he was awarded a PhD degree by Columbia University on this topic. Later, it was translated in many languages. In this treatise, Ambedkar wrote that "the superposition of endogamy on exogamy means the creation of caste.? Ambedkar views that definitions of castes given by several scholars and sociologists as incomplete by itself and all have missed the central point in the mechanism of the caste system.He was of the opinion that the endogamy (absence of intermarriage) is the only one that can be called the essence of caste and only characteristic that is peculiar to caste. In spite of the endogamy of the castes within them, exogamy is strictly observed and that there are more rigorous penalties for violating exogamy than there are for violating endogamy. Ambedkar treated class and caste as neighbours, saying that "a caste is an Enclosed Class"

Candide is the best-known work by Voltaire. It is satirical novel published in 1759. It is a cruel castigation of metaphysical optimism that reveals a world of horrors and folly. Candide was influenced by various atrocities of the mid-18th century, most notably the devastating Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the outbreak of the horrific Seven Years? War in the German states, and the unjust execution of the English Admiral John Byng. Although this is a philosophical tale, it is also an ironic attack on the optimistic beliefs of the Enlightenment. The author?s critique is directed at Leibniz?s principle of sufficient reason, which maintains that nothing can be so without there being a reason why it is so.The novel begins with the young and naive Candide, schooled in this optimistic philosophy by his tutor Pangloss, who claims that "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." He is ejected from the magnificent castle in which he is raised. The rest of the novel details the multiple hardships and disasters that Candide and his various companions meet in their travels. A comic satire of the social ills of its day, its reflections remain as pertinent now as before.

A Room of One?s Own is an essay written by Virginia Woolf. It was published in 1929 and is based on two lectures given by the author in 1928 at two colleges for women at Cambridge. In this famous essay, Woolf addressed the status of women, and women artists in particular. In this essay, the author also asserts that a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write. According to Woolf, women?s creativity has been curtailed due to centuries of prejudice and financial and educational disadvantages.To emphasize her view, she offers the example of an imaginary gifted but uneducated sister of William Shakespeare, who, discouraged from all eventually kills herself. Woolf celebrates the work of women who have overcome that tradition and become writers, including Jane Austen, George Eliot, and the Brontë sisters, Anne, Charlotte, and Emily. In the final section Woolf suggests that great minds are neutral and argues that intellectual freedom requires financial freedom. The author entreats her audience to write not only fiction but poetry, criticism, and scholarly works as well.

The War of the Worlds is a science written by H. G. Wells. It was first published serially in the UK and the USA. Considered a landmark work of science fiction, this novel details a cataclysmic conflict between humans and extraterrestrial ?Martians.? Since its publication, The War of the Worlds has inspired numerous adaptations and imitations. Based on the experience of an unidentified male narrator and his brother, the novel records the events of a Martian invasion. The narrator sees flashes of light on the surface of Mars through a telescope at an observatory in Ottershaw, England.This happens when Mars comes closer to the Earth. This is conveyed to, Ogilvy, his companion, who is a well-known astronomer. Ogilvy, however, dismisses the idea that the flashes are an indication of life on Mars. According to Ogilvy, chances against anything manlike on Mars are a million to one even though the flashes continue for several nights. Questions of order and hierarchy are the key issues around which The War of the Worlds revolves.

Great Speeches of Abraham Lincoln is a compilation of several speeches by Abraham Lincoln. Some of these speeches are famous; the Gettysburg Address and House Divided speech are famous Lincoln speeches of particular note. Some of them were delivered during the American Civil War; the First Inaugural Address and Last Public Address, among others. And some of them speak of freedom and Lincoln?s views on American?s original sin, slavery; the Peoria Speech and Cooper Union Address draw heavy influence from these areas.In one of his most famous speeches, he said: ?A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe the government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.? He predicted that the country eventually would become ?all one thing, or all the other.? Again and again he insisted that the civil liberties of every U.S. citizen, white as well as Black, were at stake. The territories must be kept free, he further said, because ?new free states? were ?places for poor people to go and better their condition.?

Maurice Horn, the editor of World Encyclopedia of Comics, has described cartoonist PRAN as Walt Disney of India.Entertaining generation after generation, his comics have been constant companion of all the growing youngsters providing fun and amusement through his famous characters like CHACHA CHAUDHARY, SABU, SHRIMATIJI, PINKI, BILLOO, RAMAN etc. More than 600 of his titles are selling well in the market, and numerous comic strips are regularly appearing in various newspapers. His CHACHA CHAUDHARY comics had already been adapted for a TV Serial, and ran continuously for 600 episodes on a premier channel.Travelling widely over the globe, he delivers lectures at various International Conferences. He has also been honoured with 'People of The Year Award' by Limca Book of Records for popularizing comics. His comic book 'United We Stand' was released in 1983 by the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, and is still very popular among children.

Maurice Horn, the editor of World Encyclopedia of Comics, has described cartoonist PRAN as Walt Disney of India.Entertaining generation after generation, his comics have been constant companion of all the growing youngsters providing fun and amusement through his famous characters like CHACHA CHAUDHARY, SABU, SHRIMATIJI, PINKI, BILLOO, RAMAN etc. More than 600 of his titles are selling well in the market, and numerous comic strips are regularly appearing in various newspapers. His CHACHA CHAUDHARY comics had already been adapted for a TV Serial, and ran continuously for 600 episodes on a premier channel.Travelling widely over the globe, he delivers lectures at various International Conferences. He has also been honoured with 'People of The Year Award' by Limca Book of Records for popularizing comics. His comic book 'United We Stand' was released in 1983 by the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, and is still very popular among children.

Maurice Horn, the editor of World Encyclopedia of Comics, has described cartoonist PRAN as Walt Disney of India.Entertaining generation after generation, his comics have been constant companion of all the growing youngsters providing fun and amusement through his famous characters like CHACHA CHAUDHARY, SABU, SHRIMATIJI, PINKI, BILLOO, RAMAN etc. More than 600 of his titles are selling well in the market, and numerous comic strips are regularly appearing in various newspapers. His CHACHA CHAUDHARY comics had already been adapted for a TV Serial, and ran continuously for 600 episodes on a premier channel.Travelling widely over the globe, he delivers lectures at various International Conferences. He has also been honoured with 'People of The Year Award' by Limca Book of Records for popularizing comics. His comic book 'United We Stand' was released in 1983 by the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, and is still very popular among children.

The Call of the Wild, is a novel written by Jack London. Initially, it was published serially but in the same year, it was brought in a book form. Of all his publications, it is the most widely read and considered to be his masterpiece. The novels story revolves around Buck and his journey as a sled dog. It begins at the house of Judge Miller where Buck is a taken care of as a domesticated pet. However, after sometime, he is stolen by one of Millers gardeners as the demand for this breed of dog increases. The gardener sells him to dog traders and makes a profit, and Buck is soon abused and beaten as he goes.In the novel, there comes a time when Buck is forced to adapt to the wild and his primitive instincts begin to surface. During this time he makes an enemy of the lead sled dog, Spitz. This led to a battle between the two and Buck kills Spitz and appoints himself as the new lead dog.

Kim is a novel written by Rudyard Kipling. It was published in 1901. Considered as Kiplings final and most famous novel, Kim records the adventures of an Irish orphan, Kimball OHara, in India who becomes the disciple of a Tibetan monk while learning espionage from the British secret service. While searching for spiritual salvation, the author is shown to be torn between two worlds: the spiritual life of the priest and the adventurous life of a spy. However, the novel has been highly appreciated by many for its colourful, rich, multilayered and nostalgic depiction of Indian culture.Set in India under the British Empire, the main protagonist of the novel is an orphaned boy of Irish descent who grows up independently in the streets of India and is taken care of by a "half-caste" woman. Kim becomes a "native" and acquires the ability to blend into the many ethnic and religious groups of India. After his meeting with a wandering Tibetan monk, Kim becomes his follower and proceeds on a journey covering the whole of India.

Julius Caesar is a tragedy in five acts by William Shakespeare. This tragic drama was produced in 15991600 and published in the First Folio of 1623. The setting of this drama takes place after Caesar has returned to Rome. Alarmed by Caesars ambition, Cassius forms a ploy among Roman republicans and convinces BrutusCaesars trusted friendto join them. Brutus joins in the conspiracy against Caesars life, convincing himself that Caesars death is for the greater good of Rome. Meanwhile, Alarmed by prophetic dreams, Caesars wife, Calpurnia, warns her husband not to go to the Capitol the next day. A planned, Caesar is slain in the Senate on March 15, the ides of March. Mark Antony, his friend, gives a stirring funeral oration that inspires the crowd to turn against them. Eventually, Octavius, Caesars nephew, forms a triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus. Brutus and Cassius are eventually defeated at the Battle of Philippi, where they kill themselves to avoid further humiliation. Many describe Julius Caesar a history play also as it deals with a non-Christian civilization existing several centuries before Shakespeare wrote his plays.

Twelfth Night is a comedy in five acts written by William Shakespeare. This play was written about 160002 and printed in 1623. Regarded by many as one of Shakespeares finest comedies, Twelfth Night appeared before the playwright went on to pen several tragedies and serious plays. Play begins with the scene in which Sebastian and Viola, the twins, are separated during a shipwreck. Each one believes the other dead. Viola disguises herself as a boy named Cesario and enters the service of Duke Orsino, who thinks he is in love with the lady Olivia. Orsino sends Viola-Cesario to plead his cause to Olivia, who promptly falls in love with the messenger. Viola, meanwhile, is in love with Orsino, and, when her twin, Sebastian, is rediscovered, many comic situations of mistaken identity ensue.Twelfth Night deals with some serious themes and various forms of love, romantic, family and even the love of love are all presented. At the same time, there is the question of appearance and reality which is shown through the actions of Olivias steward Malvolio.

Confessions of a Thug is an English novel written by Philip Meadows Taylor. This crime-novel was first published in 1839. A best-seller in 19th-century Britain, the novel is based on the Thuggee cult in India. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that many consider it as the British Empire's most sensational folklore fiction in the first half of the 19th century. Many readers in India place it as one of the most influential novels about India. Thanks to this novel, the word "thug" incorporated in the English dictionary, meaning deceiver.The plot of Confessions of a Thug revolves around a fictional character, a Muslim thug named Ameer Ali. It tells a tale of crime and retribution in India which started in the late 18th century and ended in 1832. The novels story divulges the practices of the Thugs, as they were called. During that period, they resorted to murdering innocent travelers for money and valuables. Alis confession and conversation with authors stand-in English man provides a strand for the narrative of the novel.

Tales from Shakespeare was written by Charles Lamb and his sister Mary Lamb. It was published in 1807. This book is a retelling of the plays for children and young persons. It was prose adaptations of William Shakespeares plays. Charles contributed the 6 tragedies and Mary wrote the preface and the 14 comedies and histories. The book was highly successful, and it established literary reputation of both brother and sister. The book contains tales from 20 of Shakespearean plays.Tales from Shakespeare may be regarded as an English children's book in which siblings Charles and Mary Lamb have retained as much Shakespearean language as possible. They didnt incorporate complex historical tales, and modified those they chose to retell in a manner sensitive to the needs of young. Their retelling remains uniquely faithful to the original and as such can be useful to children when they read or learn the plays as Shakespeare wrote them.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy in five acts written by William Shakespeare. This play was written about 159596 and published in 1600 from the authors manuscript. Considered by many as one of the greatest comedies, A Midsummer Nights Dream, with its vivid examination of love and its vagaries, has long been one of the most popular of Shakespeares plays. Love, imagination, and patriarchy are the main themes in the play. The playwright portrays romantic love as a blind and often beautiful force that can be both cruel and forgiving. Ultimately, it is Shakespeares focus on love that drives the play's entire plot.In A Midsummer Nights Dream, there are four groups of characters who are involved in various plots. These groups comprise party of Theseus, the young lovers, the fairies and the would-be actors. The main symbols in the play are the moon, roses, and the love potion. Although play ends with several happy weddings, they also carry its undercurrent messages.

Above Lifes Turmoil is basically a self-help and inspirational book by James Allen. For the starters, a self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. Comprising twenty chapters related to various aspects that could shape individuals personality, if followed in true spirit, the book talks about changing internal things and leading a vibrant life. What waits the readers can be gauged in books foreword by author that states: We cannot alter external things, nor shape other people to our liking, nor mould the world to our wishes but we can alter internal things,-our desires, passions, thoughts,-we can shape our liking to other people, and we can mould the inner world of our own mind in accordance with wisdom, and so reconcile it to the outer world if men and things...The first chapter titled True Happiness illustrates: A sweet and happy soul is the ripened fruit of experience and wisdom, and it sheds abroad the invisible yet powerful aroma of its influence, gladdening the hearts of others, and purifying the world.

Above Lifes Turmoil is basically a self-help and inspirational book by James Allen. For the starters, a self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. Comprising twenty chapters related to various aspects that could shape individuals personality, if followed in true spirit, the book talks about changing internal things and leading a vibrant life. What waits the readers can be gauged in books foreword by author that states: We cannot alter external things, nor shape other people to our liking, nor mould the world to our wishes but we can alter internal things,-our desires, passions, thoughts,-we can shape our liking to other people, and we can mould the inner world of our own mind in accordance with wisdom, and so reconcile it to the outer world if men and things...The first chapter titled True Happiness illustrates: A sweet and happy soul is the ripened fruit of experience and wisdom, and it sheds abroad the invisible yet powerful aroma of its influence, gladdening the hearts of others, and purifying the world.

Northanger Abbey is a novel by Jane Austen. It was published posthumously in 1817. The novel makes use of a satire on the prevailing society and mixes it with Gothic tales of terror. The main protagonist, Catherine Morland, is the daughter of a country parson, who gains worldly wisdom, first in the fashionable society of Bath and then at Northanger Abbey itself. In Abbey, she learns not to interpret the world through her reading of Gothic thrillers. Catherine's view of the world is coloured by her love of Gothic stories until she learns the value of controlling her imagination. The story of the novel thus concerns Catherine and her journey to a better understanding of herself and of the world around her. In Northanger Abbey, the narrative has two sources of conflict: internal and external. The internal conflict arises due to Catherine's own inability to distinguish fiction from reality. At the same time, the novel could also be considered Austen's critique of the gender relations and social structures of late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century.

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is a collection of stories of some plays by William Shakespeare and is re-told by Edith Nesbit. It contains twenty stories and so attractively presented that readers of every age group can enjoy them. In her inimitable way, the author tries to capture the readers imagination. Nesbit always felt that children and young ones should be introduced to Shakespeare in an easier and enjoyable way. In the book, a glossary of difficult names in the plays and a guide on how to pronounce them are also included. Nesbit has also added useful inclusion of memorable quotations from Shakespeares plays.Nesbits retelling comprises plays like King Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello. While retaining the milieu of the plays, she makes the text simpler for children to understand. For example, in Macbeth, the witches, the crimes and the final tragic climax are wonderfully recreated. Also, while retelling comedies like A Midsummer Nights Dream, As You Like It, Measure for Measure and Twelfth Night, the author strikes a lighter note.

Hard Times is one of the most popular novels by Charles Dickens. First published in 1854, the book chronicles the then English society and satirizes the socio- economic conditions of the era. It is the shortest of Dickens?s novels in which the story is set in the fictitious Victorian industrial Coketown, One is easily carried away by its description in the novel that says, ?It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it?? Hard Times has been one of Dickens? best-sellers and widely taught in schools.The novel was serialized before the complete volume of the book was published. Hard Times follows a classical three-way structure in which first part of the book is entitled ?Sowing?, second part is ?Reaping?, and the third is ?Garnering.? In order to expose his views on the right of the common man, Dickens uses the character of Sleary, proprietor of Sleary?s Circus.

Frankenstein is a novel by Mary Shelley. It was first published in 1818. Ever since its publication, the story of Frankenstein has remained brightly in the imagination of the readers and literary circles across the countries. In the novel, an English explorer in the Arctic, who assists Victor Frankenstein on the final leg of his chase, tells the story. As a talented young medical student, Frankenstein strikes upon the secret of endowing life to the dead. He becomes obsessed with the idea that he might make a man. The Outcome is a miserable and an outcast who seeks murderous revenge for his condition. Frankenstein pursues him when the creature flees. It is at this juncture t that Frankenstein meets the explorer and recounts his story, dying soon after.Although it has been adapted into films numerous times, they failed to effectively convey the stark horror and philosophical vision of the novel. Shelley?s novel is a combination of Gothic horror story and science fiction.

We is a dystopian novel written by Russian writer Yevgeny Zamyatin. Originally drafted in Russian, the book could be published only abroad. It was translated into English in 1924. Even as the book won a wide readership overseas, the author?s satiric depiction led to his banishment under Joseph Stalin?s regime in the then USSR. The book?s depiction of life under a totalitarian state influenced the other novels of the 20th century. Like Aldous Huxley?s Brave New World and George Orwell?s Nineteen Eighty-four, We describes a future socialist society that has turned out to be not perfect but inhuman. Orwell claimed that Brave New World must be partly derived from We, but Huxley denied this.The novel is set in the future. D-503, a spacecraft engineer, lives in the One State which assists mass surveillance. Here life is scientifically managed. There is no way of referring to people except by their given numbers. The society is run strictly by reason as the primary justification for the construct of the society. By way of formulae and equations outlined by the One State, the individual?s behaviour is based on logic.

A Daughter of the Samurai is written by Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto. Her story, as Sugimoto tells it, is: ?How a daughter of feudal Japan, living hundreds of years in one generation, became a modern American.? In this book, intriguing intimate episodes involving love, duty, and family ties are revealed even as there was clash of cultures and misunderstandings between Japanese and Western ways. While living between a semi-mythical past and a resurgent international scenario, the author recounts the personal impact of the profound social changes brought about by Japanese-American relations during the Meiji period. Sugimoto offers an insider?s view of traditional Japanese samurai family life as it is in the process of being brushed off.Although the book contains several chapters, it starts with author?s description of Japan. In the very first chapter ?Winters in Echigo,? Sugimoto tells, Japan is often called by foreign people a land of sunshine and cherry blossoms. Among her delicate and significant anecdotes, she tells of the Japanese fiancée whose betrothed had a plum-blossom as his family crest.

The Wind in the Willows is a book of animal tales by British writer Kenneth Grahame. It was published in 1908. It was part of author?s writings of a series of bedtime stories for his son. The beautifully written work, with its evocative descriptions of the countryside, became a classic of English children?s literature. It is a story that adults have enjoyed as much as children. Tales in the book relate the adventures of several animal friends primarily Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger in the English countryside. Although they converse and behave like humans, each animal also retains its distinctive habits.The Window in the Willows begins when Mole decides to go to the riverbank one morning where he comes across his friend Rat, a water rat, and they spend the spring and summer together. One day they visit the boastful Mr. Toad, owner of Toad Hall, who possesses large amounts of money but not much brain. Later, Mole and Rat go to the Wild Wood to visit the kindly and responsible Badger.

The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. Initially, it was serialized but later on published in book form. Regarded by many as one of the world?s most famous ghost stories, the story of The Turn of the Screw is narrated through the journal of a governess and describes her struggle to save her two young charges from the demonic influence of the uncanny apparitions of two former servants in the household. The novella has been adapted numerous times.The plot of this novella centered on an unnamed narrator and some of their friends who gather around a fire on the Christmas Eve. Douglas, one of them, reads a manuscript that tells the story of governess being hired by a man who has become responsible for his young niece Flora and nephew Miles following the deaths of their parents. Flora, is living in Bly, where she is cared for by Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper. Her uncle, the governess?s new employer, is uninterested in raising the children and gives her full charge. The story inspired critical debate over the question of the ghosts.