The book ‘Changing Nature of Indian State’ is a commentary on contemporary India which is witnessing a new political template of 80 versus 20% politics, to make India a majoritarian state. The book tries to capture such nuances of the changing nature of the Indian state from the Nehruvian era to the Modi era.
The changes are reflected in the TEN segments of the book under each there are five to seven essays. These are; i) ‘Changing Nature of the Indian State’ ii) ‘Indian Republic on an Uncharted Path’ iii) ‘Changing Profile of Indian Political Parties’ iv) ‘Changing Nature of Centre-State Relationship’ v) ‘The Voices of the Other Half of India’ vi) ‘Marginalization of Indian Muslims’ vii) ‘Jammu and Kashmir in a New Avatar’ viii) ‘Spotlight on Northeast India’ ix) ‘Emerging Trends in Indian Media’ x) ‘Changing Nature of India’s Foreign Policy.’
Public intellectual and Civil Rights Activist, Anand Teltumbde, has written the Foreword of the book, and M.G. Devasahayam (IAS) former Chief Secretary of Haryana who previously served the Indian Army as an Officer has penned the Epilogue.
The book builds the argument that India under the BJP rule is witnessing the mixing of the identity of the Indian state with the Hindu religious identity. This new cocktail of mixing Indian nationalism with Hindu religious identity is an explosive mix that may serve the interest of the BJP as a political entity but it would be a dangerous bet for the Indian state. The ideals like; socialist, secular, and democratic values are sure to lose sheen as India is heading for becoming an autocratic republic.
The book Changing Nature of Indian State tries to chronicle the theme that the Nehruvian vision of India is getting blurred under the shadow of the Modi rule which is trying to give a new identity to our beloved country. This is being done by pursuing a blatant and explicit anti-Muslim agenda. This directional change given to the Indian Republic has put the country on an uncharted path.
The book concludes that India is on the cusp of choosing two diametrically opposite paths; one is currently underway making India a majoritarian state, and the other is to change the course of Indian politics and bring it back to the centrist position where it was during the Nehruvian era.
Optimism is reflected in the book as it says; that there is an opposite political force also at play to challenge the dominant narrative. And that is in the form of the ‘Bharat Jodo’ or Unite India movement. The executive summary of the book is, that the dialectics of materialism will guide India to a decisive path.
The richness of this book is, that there are more than 53 authors who have contributed their thoughts through their papers under the different segments of the book. They look at the dynamics of the ‘Changing Nature of the Indian State.” Even though they belong to different parts of the country but have joined their minds to unravel the mysteries of the changing nature of the Indian state.
The book ‘Changing Nature of Indian State’ is edited by Dr. Syed Ali Mujtaba who is a professor, author, journalist, environmentalist, social activist, filmmaker, blogger, U-tuber, and more. This is his fifth book. His previous four books are self-authored.
The book Changing Nature of Indian State is published by INDU BOOK SERVICES, website https://indubookservices.com/. You can inquire writing to; [email protected] or call – +91-011-43584152- +91-9873655211.
