Published in the months leading to a crucial election, the book acts as an urgent reminder to its readers about the political failures and the widening fault lines in the last decade or so. Some of these include the unfulfilled promises of proper sanitation, government’s negligence during the severe second wave of COVID-19, prevalence of cronyism with the strengthening of the big businesses-government relationship, criticism of farmers’ protest against exploitative farm bills, several cases of illegal arrests of members of the minority communities, the constant name-changing of cities, and gross omissions of important historical figures from textbooks. Jha warns us, “As India is overwhelmed with… the perennial reminder that the past must be rewritten to create New India, it enters a slippery slope. After that, it is usually followed by a free fall.”

One of the most significant essays is the one titled The Shame of Manipur. India’s north-eastern states have continued to be treated as second-class citizens, or as Jha calls them, “third cousin twice removed”. He explains how the exigency of women being paraded naked and gangraped in Manipur, during violent ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities, went completely unheard until a viral video broke the Prime Minister’s silence. The horror was reduced to a mere 36-second passing mention in his speech. The numbness remains a matter of alarming shame. Jha’s unflinching voice, as he lists down the atrocities, backing them with solid evidence, will shake the readers off their indifference. In this important hour, the book should ideally be read by all.

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