Pankaj Mishra

His firm but unpretentious belief that truthful journalism is its own reward saved Outlook from becoming yet another mouthpiece of a self-serving elite

To understand contemporary Asia as a whole, one has to understand China—now more so than ever.

On Tagore’s unkind reception in China, adapted exclusively for Outlook by the author from his forthcoming book

Patrick French's armchair exercise parrots the rosy Western view of India, shunning rigour and ignoring depth for shallow deftness. His 'portrait' is a catalogue of absences.

I found myself reading a great deal of short fiction this year, preferring its brisk epiphanies to the slow satisfactions of long, intricately structured novels

Globalisation and its belief systems have streamed into reporting in, and from, Asia

Outlook asked an eminent panel of writers and critics to come up with their choice of the best books of 2009 across different categories. Here’s their take.

For all our denial and bluster on Kashmir, the Indian state's secular narcissism may not survive a Modi on the throne

India can go ape—or it can learn to talk to itself and the world

Thela, dhaba, chai shack...it's these dots on the map that give you the real Gastronomical Survey of India

Extracts from Pankaj Mishra's Romantics, shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award