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An incisive, lyrical, and deeply reported account of India’s descent into authoritarianism.
Traveling across India, interviewing Hindu zealots, armed insurgents, jailed dissidents, and politicians and thinkers from across the political spectrum, Siddhartha Deb reveals a country in which forces old and new have aligned to endanger democracy. The result is an absorbing—and disturbing—portrait. India has become a religious fundamentalist dystopia, one depicted here with a novelist’s precise language and eye for detail.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party—a formation explicitly drawing on European fascism—has deftly exploited modern technologies, the media, and market forces to launch a relentless campaign on minorities, women, dissenters, and the poor. Deb profiles these people, as well as those fighting back, including writers, scholars, and journalists.
Twilight Prisoners sounds the alarm now that the world’s largest democracy is under threat in ways that echo the fissures in the United States, United Kingdom, and so-called democracies the world over.
List of contents
Introduction: The India Racket
Chapter 2. What is India? Why India’s Boom Years Have Been a Bust
Chapter 3. The Violence, Insecurity, and Rage of Narendra Modi
Chapter 4. Arundhati Roy: The Renegade
Chapter 5. The Killing of Gauri Lankesh
Chapter 6. The Worst Industrial Disaster in the History of the World
Chapter 7. Nowhere Land: Along India’s Border, a Forgotten Burmese Rebellion
Chapter 8. Those Mythological Men and Their Sacred Supersonic Flying Temples
Chapter 9. The Detention Centers of Assam
Chapter 10. India’s Political Prisoners
Chapter 11. The Temple and The Mosque
Conclusion
About the author
Born in Shillong, India,
Siddhartha Deb lives in Harlem, New York. His fiction and nonfiction have been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, shortlisted for the Orwell Prize, and been awarded the Pen Open Prize. His journalism and essays have appeared in the
New York Times,
Guardian,
New Republic,
Baffler,
n+1,
Dissent, and
Caravan.
Summary
An incisive, lyrical, and deeply reported account of India’s descent into authoritarianism.
Traveling across India, interviewing Hindu zealots, armed insurgents, jailed dissidents, and politicians and thinkers from across the political spectrum, Siddhartha Deb reveals a country in which forces old and new have aligned to endanger democracy. The result is an absorbing—and disturbing—portrait. India has become a religious fundamentalist dystopia, one depicted here with a novelist’s precise language and eye for detail.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party—a formation explicitly drawing on European fascism—has deftly exploited modern technologies, the media, and market forces to launch a relentless campaign on minorities, women, dissenters, and the poor. Deb profiles these people, as well as those fighting back, including writers, scholars, and journalists. Twilight Prisoners sounds the alarm now that the world’s largest democracy is under threat in ways that echo the fissures in the United States, United Kingdom, and so-called democracies the world over.
Foreword
National media campaign, including TV, radio, and podcast interviews
National print and online campaign, including reviews, features, author interviews
Author readings and events
Extensive social media campaign, including wide influencer galley mailing
National consumer advertising campaign at publication
Extensive library and school marketing
Bookstore campaign, including signed copies, readings, and display materials
