Post-Truth India: The Brand New Republic by Syed Ali Mujtaba

The Book

‘Post-Truth India- The Brand new Republic’ picks up several themes to prove what is not true is true in India. To illustrate, the BJP government says that all its policies are for the good of the people but citizens feel they are anti-people. So what is not true is true. This is Post-Truth the swan song of contemporary India.

The second argument is the Indian state has got entwined with the majoritarian religion. Nationalism is synced with the Hindu religious identity. That is to say India has moved away from the Nehruvian vision of republic and we are living in a new India-‘The Brand New Republic.’

The book argues that the BJP’s supremacy is due to mixing religion with politics. The BJP’s slogan India first is a smokescreen to say Hindu first and to further say BJP first. The BJP by saying so wants to keep the party’s interest above the country’s interest.

A new template of politics has emerged in India riding the wave of Hindu nationalism and hate Muslim agenda. This symbolizes assertion of BJP’s power on the body politics and it’s promoting the cause of making India a ‘Hindu Rashtra.’

The book argues that India is on the cusp of choosing two opposite path. One that is currently underway, making Post-Truth India - The brand new republic, second to change the pendulum back to its centrist position. It is argued that the dialectics of materialism will guide India to a decisive path.

The book sums up that the only way for peaceful coexistence is to steer the path of unity in diversity, secularism and pluralism and establish an era of peace for the prosperity of the nation.

Dr. Syed Ali Mujtaba (b. 1962) is currently heading an IAS Academy in Chennai, India. He has recently taken Voluntary Retirement from Guru Nanak College, Chennai. He has taken M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

He has authored three books; India’s Eastward Thrusts– Predicaments and Prospects” (Mittal Publications (2020), “Soundings on South Asia,” Sterling Publication (2005) “The Demand for Partition of India and British Policy 1940-45,” Mittal Publications (2002). He has contributed a chapter each to more than 10 edited volumes. His research papers have appeared in several reputed international journals.

The Author

Dr. Mujtaba shifted to journalism, and spent about fifteen years as a working journalist. He has worked in several media organizations and was a Jefferson media fellows at the East West Center, Hawaii.  

Dr. Mujtaba is President of Centre for Peace and Economic Prosperity in South Asia. He is a member of the International Federation of Environmental Journalist Association (IFEJA), Association of British Scholars, Chennai Chapter, East-West Center Hawaii, Chennai Chapter and Chennai Center for Chinese Studies (C- 3). Dr. Mujtaba writes opinionated pieces on contemporary Indian political issues for several websites and newspapers. He is active on social media with a large following on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. He has made two documentary films; “Beyond Empires” and “Making a Difference.”

Dr. Mujtaba has visited several countries like United Kingdom, United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and Nepal for academic and journalistic purposes. He was in the Aligarh Muslim University’s Football team from where he has taken the Bachelors and Masters Degrees.