The 2025 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize for nonfiction announces its five-book shortlist
The New India Foundation today announced its five-book shortlist of the 2025 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize, which honours exceptional works of non-fiction writing on modern and contemporary India.
The winner will be announced on December 6 and will receive a cash prize of Rs 15 lakhs at the Bangalore Literature Festival.
The 2025 shortlist was selected by a jury comprising the chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group N Chandrasekaran, entrepreneur Manish Sabharwal, political scientist Niraja Gopal Jayal, historian Srinath Raghavan, partner – Trilegal) Rahul Matthan, former Ambassador of India to France Jawed Ashraf, public policy scholar and Yamini Aiyar.
Commenting on the Shortlist, Matthan said, “This year’s shortlist reflects the range and vitality of contemporary nonfiction in India. From biographies of pioneering figures to accounts exploring identity and belief to the workings of democracy and statecraft, these works offer fresh insights into the forces that continue to shape modern India. They remind us that truly understanding our nation requires following both – the centres and the edges, the well-known and the forgotten. the Shortlist stands as a testament to this richness and complexity.”
The five shortlisted books are: