Fellowships for books on India

The New India Foundation has announced a June 1 deadline for applications to the Ninth Round of its Fellows programme.

Trustee Ramachandra Guha said: “In the 70 years since Independence, there has been a large body of work produced by Indian historians and social scientists. Taken singly, many of these studies are very impressive; viewed cumulatively, they add up to much less than what one might expect.

“It is this lack that the New India Foundation seeks to address, by sponsoring work of quality on the history of India since Independence”.

Open only to Indian nationals, these Fellowships will be awarded for one year and will carry a stipend of Rs 100,000 a month. Fellowship holders shall be expected to write original books. Proposals should be oriented towards publication, and outline a road map towards that destination.

The Foundation is ecumenical as regards genre, theme, and ideology: the only requirement is that the proposed works contribute to a fuller understanding of independent India.

Thus Fellowship holders may choose to write a memoir, or a work of reportage, or a thickly footnoted academic study. Their books could be oriented towards economics, or politics, or culture. They could be highly specific—an account of a single decade or a single region—or wide-ranging, such as a countrywide overview.

Applicants for the New India Fellowships are invited to submit their book proposal and a writing sample of at least 5000 words (published or unpublished) either online (www.newindiafoundation.org/fellowships) or by couriering a physical copy to the Managing Trustee, The New India Foundation, Neev Schools, Sy No.16, Yemalur- Kempapura Main Road, Yemalur Bangalore 560037, Phone 080-71101774 (the phone number is provided for courier purposes only) before June 1.

Fifteeen books have thus far emanated from the New India Foundation Fellowships.