‘The Crooked Timber of New India’: A timely commentary on India’s pivot towards illiberal democracy

It’s natural to feel lost when flooded with an enormous amount of information churned out by various entities on a daily basis. Apart from the lack of context, this feeling of loss is translated into distinct anxiety when the information pertains to the changing character of a democratic country. Hate speeches and communal dog-whistling by elected leaders, violence, rash policy decisions, and a crackdown on dissent and opponents have almost become normalised in India.

Many link these changes to the ascent of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. In the past nine years, the party has cemented its control – albeit through controversial means at times – on the psyche of India. Observers feel it’s likely to retain power for a long time to come.

How and what has changed in India in the last nine years?

Well-known political economist and social commentator Parakala Prabhakar tries to answer just this question in his new book, The Crooked Timber of New India. In his view, as the subtitle of the book notes, the Indian Republic is in a “crisis”. This situation, Prabhakar feels, will not end even with the electoral defeat of the Narendra Modi-and-Amit Shah-led BJP.

Indeed, even if though the book concerns itself directly with only...

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