‘Governance, Constitution and Social Justice’ by Salman Khurshid and Gaurav Gupta – Book Review

The renowned publisher, McGraw Hill Education India, has come up with another promising book in the domain of Indian Polity, titled ‘Governance, Constitution, and Social Justice‘.

What distinguishes the book ‘Governance, Constitution, and Social Justice‘ from all other books in this category is the authority of the authors.

The book is jointly authored by Salman Khurshid and Gaurav Gupta.

Authors: Salman Khurshid and Gaurav Gupta

The names of the authors need no introduction. Salman Khurshid is an eminent Indian politician who held different portfolios in the Central Government including Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Law and Justice. He is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India. Gaurav Gupta, the joint author, is a leading advocate of the Supreme Court of India. Gaurav was also part of the 20th Law Commission.

Salman Khurshid’s book on the Indian Constitution is not a replacement for Laxmikanth’s book on Indian Polity

Indian Polity authored by M.Laxmikanth and published by McGraw Hill Education (MHE) has always been one of the best-selling books on Indian Polity. It is interesting to see the publisher not just stopping there. MHE has recently been adding many titles like ‘Important Judgments that transformed India‘ in the area of the Indian Constitution to bridge all gaps and emerge as the market authority. The latest addition to the list is ‘Governance, Constitution, and Social Justice’.

Of course, there may be an overlap, however, Salman Khurshid’s Constitution book is not a replacement for Laxmikanth’s book. Salman Khurshid’s book can be better considered as ‘Indian Constitution for beginners’. The book focuses on getting the facts and fundamentals of aspirants right, from the beginning.

A great handbook on the Indian Constitution: Get the facts correct!

When compared to other books on Indian Polity, the book by Salam Khurshid and Gaurav Gupta is a short and crisp one – much like a handbook on the Indian Constitution. This book uses a different approach.

Be it the UPSC Preliminary Exam or the Main Exam, the book ‘Governance, Constitution and Social Justice’ is a good starting point for the Polity/Constitution. You can finish the book in a few days time. It will be quite handy in the final days of revision as well.

Value for money

The number of pages of the book is only half of that of M.Laxmikanth’s Indian Polity – so of course, you will not see everything in Laxmikanth’s book in Salman Khurshid’s book. It is justified by the price of the book as well – only less than half of the Indian Polity book.

Besides, the paper quality of the book is excellent. The book also comes out with a reader-friendly page layout, fonts, and typesetting.

Link to buy the book from Amazon – Click here.

Link to buy the book from Flipkart – Click here.

A lot of important topics covered

Many highly relevant areas for UPSC Mains like the Comparison of the Indian Constitutional scheme with other countries, Judicial Doctrines, Simultaneous Elections, Conflict in Delhi with LG, Full statehood for Delhi, Article 370, ASFPA, etc. are covered in the book.

Special chapters deal with many of the topics of the UPSC Main Exam like Salient Features of the RPA Act, the role of NGOs, the role of civil services in democracy, etc.

Also, at the end of each chapter, probable questions for UPSC Prelims and Mains are discussed.

Though the title is Governance, Constitution, and Social Justice, readers will soon identify that the main area of focus is the Indian Constitution itself.

Conclusion

In short, this book is a quick read on the Indian Constitution – useful to begin your polity preparation.

Given its concise nature, the book is not intended to cover everything related to Indian Polity comprehensively.  But if you are looking for a small and handy book to learn the nuances of the Indian Constitution, this can be an ideal choice.

Moreover, if you need a concise handbook on Indian Polity/Constitution to save time before final revision, this book by Salman Khurshid and Gaurav Gupta should be the answer.

Our recommendation is that you should supplement Salman Khurshid’s Constitution book with Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth and Important Judgments that Transformed India by Alex Andrews George – to leave no stones unturned.

How can you buy Governance, Constitution, and Social Justice by Salman Khurshid and Gaurav Gupta?

Governance, Constitution, and Social Justice – Click to buy online from Amazon. OR Click to buy online from Flipkart.