In a time of democratic backsliding and institutional erosion, Manoj Kumar
Jha’s collection of essays offers a stirring and necessary voice of conscience.
At once political and personal, reflective and sharply polemical, the essays
in this volume interrogate the state of Indian democracy after a decade of
majoritarian rule. They examine the bulldozing of constitutional safeguards,
state-sanctioned bigotry and the everyday injustice faced by Dalits and
Muslims, the retreat of federalism in the face of a hyper-centralized state,
the shrinking of academic freedom and criminalization of protest, and the
erosion of parliamentary norms and the internationalism that guided India’s
support to causes like the liberation of Palestine.
All is not lost, however, as the lead essay on the return of coalition politics
suggests, arguing that the half-hearted mandate to the Bharatiya Janata
Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, putting the brakes on its majoritarian
juggernaut, points to the essentially inclusive nature of India’s democracy.
Written with clarity, conviction and empathy, this is a book that refuses
to normalize the destruction of our democratic republic or surrender to
cynicism. At its heart lies a simple yet—at this moment in our nation’s
history—radical idea: that India’s greatness lies not in uniformity or brute
power, but in plurality, debate, compassion and the constant struggle towards
social and economic justice. This is a vital book for our times.