'It is close to nine years since the Narendra Modi-led BJP swept into power. A new era began
in May 2014, or so we were told... But India is, in fact, facing a crisis. Our polity, society
and economy are all broken. The signs are all around us.'
At a time when a compromised media and the ruling party's digital army
work 24/7 to overwhelm our public discourse with pro-establishment noise,
Parakala Prabhakar is an unabashedly critical voice, determined to speak
truth to power. In these essays written over almost three years-from 2020
to 2023-he looks closely at facts and data and analyses events and public
statements to show why he fears for the future of our democracy, social
harmony and economy.
In the Prime Minister's Independence-Day speeches from 2014 to 2022,
and the speeches of the RSS chief; in the unemployment and inequality
statistics that the government supresses; in the partisan role of investigative
agencies and the income tax department; in the new BJP's'tiraskar' or clear
rejection of India's Muslims as citizens and voters; in the mishandling of the
COVID-19 pandemic-in these and many more developments, Parakala
Prabhakar finds unmistakable evidence of religious majoritarianism, a creeping
authoritarianism and serious economic [...] he shows us why
silence and complacency are no longer an option for any citizen invested in
the future of our Republic.
This no-holds-barred, urgent book helps us connect the dots and see the true
picture of the'New India' being fashioned before our eyes.