What is the nation? What is the idea of India? Whose India is it, anyway?
This inaugural volume in the series titled Rethinking India aims to kickstart a national dialogue on the key questions of our times. It brings together India's foremost intellectuals, academics, activists, technocrats, professionals and policymakers to offer an in-depth exploration of these issues, deriving from their long-standing work, experience and unflinching commitment to the collective idea of India, of who we can and ought to be. Vision for a Nation: Paths and Perspectives champions a plural, inclusive, just, equitable and prosperous India, committed to individual dignity as the foundation of the unity and vibrancy of the nation.
In order to further disseminate these ideas-the vision for the nation as aspirationally reflected in the Constitution-this book provides a positive counter-narrative to reclaim the centrality of a progressive, deeply plural and forward-looking and inclusive India. It serves as a fresh reminder of our shared and shareable overlapping values and principles, and collective heritage and resources. The essays in the book are meaningful to anyone with an interest in contemporary Indian politics, South Asian studies, modern Indian history, law, sociology, media and journalism.
This is the first of 14 volumes of writings and essays that seek to highlight and focus upon the biggest conundrum of our times. In a country where a singular idea of nationhood is being thrust upon 1.3 billion people, it is imperative that we realise and absorb the fact that there are many such ideas, and only in accepting all these can we preserve the overarching reality of this teeming sub-continent as a place that nurtures the human spirit.This collection of essays, edited by Ashis Nandy and Aakash Singh Rathore, highlights the key questions of our time, in an effort to understand the collective idea of India.
