Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen. An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions. Princeton: Princeton University Press. USA. 2013. 448 pages. $ 29.95.

The spectacular performance of India in terms of economic growth has generally been a source of pride for the Indians as a nation, in addition to attracting significant international applause. Drèze and Sen, on the contrary, question the justification of lauding Indian performance in their book, ‘An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions’. In their book, they focus on the performance parameters that actually reflect standards of living of Indian population. Their analysis portrays a shockingly dismal state of affairs for a vast majority of citizens of the country. The book disillusions the reader about the projected image of Indian development through a detailed yet objective discussion on specific issues plaguing the social sector of the country. The discourse throughout is substantiated by extensive statistical evidence, in addition to a comprehensive statistical appendix given at the end of the book.