Brand New Nation

The early twenty-first century was an optimistic moment of global futures-making. The old 'third-world' nations were rapidly embracing the script of unbridled capitalism in the hope of arriving on the world stage.

Brand New Nation reveals the on-the-ground experience of the relentless transformation of the nation-state into an attractive investment destination for global capital. The infusion of capital not only rejuvenates the nation, it also produces investment-fuelled nationalism, a populist energy that can be turned into a powerful instrument of coercion.

Grounded in the history of modern India, the book reveals how the forces of identity economy, identity politics, publicity, populism, violence and economic growth are rapidly rearranging the liberal political order the world over.

‰ÛÏThis is anoriginal and highly provocative book.‰۝
‰ÛÓMartinWolf, Financial Times

‰ÛÏIn thissubtle, insightful and often witty book, Ravinder Kaur shows how the ‰Û÷NewIndia‰۪ came into being with its distinctive mix of market and Hindufundamentalisms, plutocracy and deprivation, mass agitation and staterepression. Uncovering hidden continuities and constellations, Brand New Nationmakes much mainstream analysis of India, especially one that posits Hindusupremacism as a great and unexpected rupture, look naive, and opens up freshmodes of analysis.‰۝
‰ÛÓPankajMishra, author of Bland Fanatics: Liberals, Race, and Empire

‰ÛÏThis bookneeds to be read by any and every serious student of the Indian economy.‰۝
‰ÛÓVivek Kaul, Mint

‰ÛÏKaur‰۪s eyeranges widely, and her research has been thorough. Her narrative touch isparticularly deft when ‰Û? describing ‰Û? India pavilions at Davos, where theIndia-as-investment image has assiduously been cultivated by successiveindustrial and political elite.‰۝
‰ÛÓMihir S.Sharma, Biblio

‰ÛÏRavinderKaur convincingly argues that the era of ‰Û÷happy globalization‰۪ is over in Indiaand that it is largely responsible for the dominant repertoire ofnational-populism under Modi. It is not only the new middle class that hasasserted itself after the 1991 liberalization that is very supportive of Hindunationalism, but the aspiring categories coming from the plebeians are alsofinding a sense of belonging in Hindutva politics. Kaur‰۪s book is a trulyremarkable exploration of the unintended political consequences of economicdevelopments, as in India capitalism and religious national-populism have clearaffinities.‰۝
‰ÛÓChristopheJaffrelot, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

‰ÛÏThis is afar-reaching study that illuminates and historicizes the projects of brandingin post-reform India. It offers a precise vocabulary through which tounderstand this new and inherently unstable field of politics. To this end,‰ÛÏbrand new nation‰۝ is a conceptual proposition, and Kaur provides an excellentexcavation of those three words and their relational dynamics‰ÛӉÛ÷brand‰۪, ‰Û÷new‰۪,and ‰Û÷nation‰۪‰ÛÓin a way that harnesses them to intellectual work. Spanningdiscourses of history, theory, marketing, finance, economics and branding witha degree of agility that is genuinely impressive, the study presents a strongrejection of theories of globalization that prevailed in the 1990s, whichvalorized the increased erosion of the nation state and celebrated a‰Û÷postnational‰۪ world.‰۝
‰ÛÓSaloniMathur, University of California, Los Angeles

‰ÛÏBrandNew Nation skillfully draws the larger connections between rebranding forthe foreign investor and what it asks of the internal audience, and how in theprocess citizens‰۪ political imaginations are reshaped.‰۝
‰ÛÓAnaghaIngole, The India Forum

‰ÛÏBrandNew Nation evocatively captures the zeitgeist of the glory days ofglobalization. From the perspective of the present, where demonetization, GSTand the lockdown have destroyed people‰۪s livelihoods, India is neither risingnor shining. Crony capitalism reigns. Perhaps that was the subliminal text inthe messaging: the idea that India is For Sale.‰۝
‰ÛÓAmitaBaviskar, Outlook

‰ÛÏBrandNew Nation is a glimpse into the aesthetics of nation-branding and the roleplayed by non-economic affective factors such as ‰Û÷nationalism‰۪ and ‰Û÷hope‰۪ inconvincing people about the virtues of market economy. In the process, ittraces the evolution of India from a post-colony with grand developmentalaspirations to an emerging market economy with superpower ambitions, butsituated in an exclusionary socio-political setting.‰۝
‰ÛÓRaghunathNageswaran and Vignesh Karthik K.R., NewsClick

‰ÛÏBrandNew Nation tells the story of how the twenty-first-century Indian statetried to create a brand image of the country to attract investments to India,and how a new idea of the nation unfolded through the attempt. Ravinder Kaurhas written a perceptive, compelling, and very engaging book. This is the firstsystematic treatment of the remaking of politics and ideology in the wake ofthe economic resurgence in India and offers a radical rethinking ofnationalism.‰۝
‰ÛÓTirthankarRoy, Humanities and Social Sciences Online

‰ÛÏBrand NewNation offers a new, enriching, and also, counter-intuitive perspective ‰Û? Thisimportant book is a must-read.‰۝
‰ÛÓRoshanKishore, Hindustan Times

‰ÛÏThis bookaddresses ... [many] questions with clarity and insight, and is an importantread for all interested in contemporary India, media and cultural studies, andthe making of a hegemonic imaginary.‰۝
‰ÛÓAparnaGopalan, New Books Network

‰ÛÏKaur peelsoff layers and layers of contemporary Indian history to prove, on her ownterms, that the ‰Û÷manifestation of Hindu cultural nationalism and marketliberalization‰۪ owe their dominance to each other ‰Û? Following the course ofKaur‰۪s arguments is a sheer treat.‰۝
‰ÛÓUllekhN.P., Open magazine

‰ÛÏA hugelythoughtful and innovative analysis of the phenomenon known as ‰Û÷India Inc.‰۪Skillfully written‰ÛÓwith a good measure of irony, humor, and bite‰ÛÓthis book willset the standard for our understanding of this topic and period.‰۝
‰ÛÓSumathiRamaswamy, Duke University

‰ÛÏBrandNew Nation takes us on a tour‰ÛÓa tour de force, really‰ÛÓof the changingtrajectory of the nation-state: specifically, its transformation from a liberaldemocratic polity into a business enterprise, underpinned by the neoliberalfaith in the capacity of markets to produce utopic futures. Ravinder Kaur has awonderfully acute eye for the telling example, the revealing case, the momentof historical rupture that opens a window onto the process of nation brandingand the corporatization of the state. As a result, Brand New Nation is ariveting read‰ÛÓin addition to being a pathbreaking piece of work.‰۝
‰ÛÓJohnComaroff, Harvard University