The Hitler Indians should know

Mr Purandare reminds us that Hitler's view of India was shaped by another Briton, a political philosopher called Houston Chamberlain

Hitler and India: The Untold Story of His Hatred for the Country and Its People

Author: Vaibhav Purandare

Publisher: Westland
Pages: 206

Price: Rs 399

Sometime in the early nineties, a security official at Mumbai airport pointed to a photograph of Adolf Hitler on the cover of a book I was reading and offered an unsolicited comment. “Very good man,” he said. “Very bad man,” I replied disbelievingly, “He murdered Jews.” “But he was very kind,” the official persisted.

The man’s hazy grasp of history made argument futile but this novel view of Hitler pointed to a popular cult. And so it was. Bal Thackeray,