Hachette India

The Truth about Us: The Politics of Information from Manu to Modi

Sanjoy Chakravorty

The political manipulation and simplification of information about a dizzyingly complex society have fashioned certain 'truths' about India. These truths have resulted in the creation of major religious and caste identities, which have been the defining features of the country's politics and history for over 200 years.

An unsparing study of how this situation has come about, The Truth about Us explores answers to crucial questions: Is India a homogeneous Hindu nation sprinkled with minorities, or a pluralistic, heterogeneous one? Is our knowledge of the inequalities in our society founded on facts or perceptions? What are the real origin stories of India's social categories, and how are they being constructed and challenged today?

At a time when India is in the throes of an existential debate, convulsed by contesting claims over identity and history, Hindutva and Dalit consciousness, nationalism and freedom of speech, and the rights and realities of minorities, this deeply provocative book is urgent reading for every thinking Indian.

Sanjoy Chakravorty

Sanjoy Chakravorty has written several acclaimed books on critical issues. The Price of Land: Acquisition, Conflict, Consequence was shortlisted for the Crossword Prize in 2013; The Other One Percent: Indians in America was a Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2017; Fragments of Inequality and Made in India are groundbreaking works on vital subjects. He is the author of one novel, The Promoter, and two edited collections, on land (Seeking Middle Ground) and Delhi (Colossus). He is Director of Global Studies at Temple University, and splits his time between Philadelphia and Kolkata. The Truth about Us was the winner of the Muzaffar Ahmad Memorial Prize in 2019.