“Our shared history has many layers. I hope people will think as much about the future relationship our countries will have alongside that history.”-Alan Gemmell (Author-30TH STATE: When Britain is India)
1 min read
Team Kitaab is in conversation with Alan Gemmell, author of 30th State: When Britain is India (Bloomsbury India, 2025), to talk about the book, the people, and the story behind the story.
Alan Gemmell spent six years working and living in Delhi and Mumbai. He travelled India, meeting activists, artists, businesspeople, policymakers and politicians in twenty-five states. He has a particular connection with the Northeast of India and interest in India’s second-tier cities. In 2022 he undertook a thirty-city tour of India’s second-tier cities to see the people and places who will drive India’s growth for the next twenty years.
In July 2024, Alan was elected Labour member of Parliament for Central Ayrshire, the Scottish constituency where he grew up. He has been appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Alan was His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia and has a unique perspective on the UK-India relationship and the key political and business leaders behind it.
