New book on India’s regional politics shortlisted for major accolade
‘India’s Near East: A New History’ by Dr Avinash Paliwal has been shortlisted for the prestigious Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay ‘Best Book’ prize by the New India Foundation Awards (NIF).
Celebrating works of non-fiction and shedding a spotlight on both modern and contemporary India, The NIF – based in Bengaluru, India, are part of efforts to broaden accessibility to works originally written in Indian languages into English.
Being the first book to be shortlisted from the international politics genre since the inception of the prize, such recognition is hugely encouraging.
Published in July 2024, ‘India’s Near East: A New History’ provides a news history of India’s diplomacy and wider politics across neighbouring states of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Paliwal – who specialises in the International Relations of South Asia, has received high praise from publications such as The Spectator, Foreign Affairs, the Hindu, and the Indian Express.
Speaking on the shortlisting, Dr Paliwal said:
“I am deeply honoured by India’s Near East: A New History being shortlisted for the 2025 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize. It is the most prestigious non-fiction award in, and on, India that covers all disciplines.
Being the first book to be shortlisted from the international politics genre since the inception of the prize, such recognition is hugely encouraging. It is likely to spur more writing on contemporary India’s regional geopolitics—an underexplored area that urgently requires more work.”
The winner of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2025 will be announced in December 2025. The Department of Politics and International Studies provides expert grounding in the study of Politics and International Relations - through deep engagement with the historical legacies and political realities of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
