The New India

"An absorbing account of India's transformation" (The Guardian) from democracy towards autocracy told through "brilliant on-the-ground reportage" (The Times).

• “So readable, so swiftly sketched… It’s like a mystery novel, with India as the main character.”
  NPR, Books We Love
• “This meticulously researched book is an unusual account of the dismantling of democracy in the world's most populous country. It is a portrait of how medieval religious sectarianism, modern majoritarianism, deepening poverty, all lashed together by the world's most ambitious data gathering project is driving India towards an alarming, unique model of authoritarianism. A serious subject, seriously addressed.”
   
  Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things
• “An important, timely and powerful account of India now. Rahul Bhatia's book is both rigorously reported and very readable. Highly recommended.”
   
  Jason Burke, Guardian correspondent
• “Really important, superbly researched, very well written.”
   
  Peter Oborne, author of The Assault on Truth
• “The New India is a tour de force, and it will be one of the defining books of the Modi era. Rahul Bhatia's astonishingly granular and deeply empathetic reporting reveals an India well on its way to being an authoritarian dystopia”
   
  Samanth Subramanian, author of A Dominant Character
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  “Rahul Bhatia's The New India is an account of Hindu fascism from the inside, one with astounding resonances across all democracies currently threatened by fascism. It is one of the essential books for anyone interested in preserving democracy today.”
   
   
  Jason Stanley, author of How Propaganda Works
• "Bhatia's remarkable book is an absorbing account of India's transformation from the world's largest democracy to something more like the world's most populous country that regularly holds elections...Bhatia captures the whole phenomenon brilliantly, painting a gloomy picture of what India has become."
  The Guardian
• "This is the stuff of black comedy. Worse, it is a testament to the bigoted backwater that the new India is becoming...Bhatia gives us some brilliant on-the-ground reportage."
  The Times of London
• "Bhatia's book combines reporting, history and polemic...his account of the precursors to Hindu nationalism, reaching back to a Hindu reformist movement of the 19th century, is fascinating. So is his description of an early, unsuccessful attempt to create an identity system."
  The Economist
• "A beautiful writing style."
  Irish Times