First published by Westland Publications Private Limited in 2020
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Copyright Harsh Gupta, Rajeev Mantri, 2020
ISBN: 9789389648409
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Praise for A New Idea of India
This book discusses many contentious subjects concerning modern India, none more so than the vexing issue of state capacity and the lack thereof. Rajeev and Harshs data-backed analysis calls for re-architecting and reorganising all arms of the Indian state, including the judiciary, as a pre-condition for creating the India of its founders dreams. Over the last decade, the authors have emerged as new, authentic voices on Indias intellectual and policy scene. One may disagree with them on the issues, but no one interested in the India story can afford to ignore them.
Reuben Abraham, CEO, IDFC Institute
This is an impressive book exhibiting deep scholarship that supports a nuanced and well-reasoned narrative. It fully deserves to be an integral part of a consensus-building dialogue about how Indias millennia-old civilisational ethos, captured in the word dharma, can be built into developing a modern state and global power based on individual rights and economic freedom. A must read.
Mukul G. Asher, Professorial Fellow (Retired), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
In a welcome departure, Harsh and Rajeev discuss important issues about State, governance, political and economic freedomsand refrain from being politically correct. They call it as they see itthat is, the world, and poor individuals, will be considerably better off without the pseudo-trappings of socialist doctrine.
From Nehru to Modi, from intellectuals to ordinary folks, Harsh and Rajeev have ploughed a productive and enlightening journey. For a modern unapologetic rendition of what freedom should be all about, their just war is against an encroaching state. And their rightful battle, spread throughout the text, is that the new idea of India is an old ideaa state that sees all citizens as equal individuals.
Surjit S. Bhalla, Executive Director for India, International Monetary Fund
This is a unique book. It deals head-on with contemporary issues and provides solutions, rooting the hypotheses at the intersection of the countrys social, economic and political history. This is a refreshing effort, because the two young and articulate authors use a combination of vivek (patient structuring), vidya (subject-matter expertise) and vishwas (open and direct arguments) to bolster their work. They explain why the superficial division of India and Bharat in the popular commentary glosses over our interconnectedness as products of an ancient, rich and common civilisation. The authors use pegs of history to explore India and Indians, without any sense of otherwise routine guilt and insecurity. The book talks about a confident India which takes pride in its civilisational roots and yet embraces, indeed leads, the world in all its modernity. It celebrates a civilisation and its people who equally embody the virtues represented by Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga. Harsh and Rajeev have produced a fabulous work on the philosophy of Indian political economy and philosophy.
Aashish Chandorkar, global management consultant and author
Since 2014, the demise of the old order based loosely on the Nehruvian consensus has been widely acknowledged. There is, however, less clarity over the emerging alternatives. In this provocative book, Rajeev and Harsh identify the contours of an emerging civilisational order based on a blend of traditional values and Indian modernity. This book will contribute immeasurably to the ongoing debate on Indias quest for an identity based on cultural self-confidence and economic prosperity.
Swapan Dasgupta, Member of Parliament and writer
A New Idea of India is a wonderful book that makes the reader think about Bharat, that is, India. Drawing on our legacy and history, post-Independence, we should have put in place a construct of a new India. Instead, we imported and implanted, devising a system of government and citizen rights that was alien. Rajeev and Harsh have deconstructed and suggested the building blocks for a true idea of India.
Bibek Debroy, Chairman, Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council
The Indian nation is an ancient project, crafted over thousands of years by its civilisational ethos. India is not a Westphalian state of recent vintage. What Rabindranath Tagore called the idea of India is inseparable from the diverse and plural strands of Indias civilisational history. This book, authored by Rajeev and Harsh, two of the brightest conservative minds in Rising India, explores the many aspects of a civilisational republic, offers fresh perspectives and prescribes policies to shape the trajectory of Indias future.
Kanchan Gupta, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
One troubling part about the idea of India floated by modern-day Nehruvians is not so much the idea part, but their insistence on the the part, write Rajeev and Harsh. No idea can hold a monopoly forever, least of all one that defines a nation as complex and diverse as India. The book is a passionate plea for a systems upgrade in the way we reimagine India today. It calls for a break from the deniers of Indias heritage who view it as merely an accident of history and a collection of communities. Beyond philosophical foundational ideas, the book also argues for a new model of running the country by bolstering state capacity, cutting state flab and reforming administrative talent. It is a valuable and instructive book for anyone who wishes to understand the new Indian zeitgeist with an open mind.
Shekhar Gupta, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, ThePrint
Nothing can be more tyrannical intellectually than to claim that there can be only one Idea of India, an idea patented by Indias secular Nehruvian elite after 1947. In this hard-hitting and wonderful counter-narrative, the authors expand on the concept of a civilisational state. The new idea of India is surely a work in progress, but there is little doubt that an ancient civilisation is morphing into a modern nation within the framework of a democratic republic, while remaining rooted in its own heritage. A must-read for anyone who is open to questioning the narrow Nehruvian Idea of India.
R. Jagannathan, Editorial Director, Swarajya magazine
A New Idea of India presents a vision for 21st-century India as a civilisational republic, assimilating and harnessing its historical inheritance. Harsh and Rajeev outline how a post-colonial society with a history of subjugation can transform itself into a forward-looking nation-state. This book makes the case for Indias emergence as one of the worlds great powers while being rooted in its rich heritage, rather than as a pale imitation of its colonial overlord.
