A chance discovery in a shop in Covent Garden

I ALWAYS ENJOY looking through the books on sale in charity shops (thrift shops). First of all, one often sees books that are either out of print or that you did not know existed. Secondly, occasionally, one finds real treasures.

Today, I was in an Oxfam shop near Covent  Garden when I found a book called “Muslims in India.” Edited by Ratna Sahai, it was published in the mid to late 1990s. What made it interesting is that this illustrated and quite learned book was produced for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. In other words, it was commissioned by the Government of India. I wonder whether the present Indian Government will produce a new version of this volume.

I paid very little for the book – about 10% of what booksellers on the Internet are charging.