An essay in Time magazine’s special on India
Time magazine’s special issue on “Reinventing India” hits the newsstands today, and my opening essay, “In Search of a New India,” is in it. I argue that India is at an “inflection point—increasingly disenchanted with its current trajectory, aware of the limitations in its current model of development, yet still grasping for a new model.”
The article is unfortunately only available online to subscribers, so you might have to pick up a copy at the newsstand.
shubhabrata roy
Dear Akash, I had the good luck of picking up your book 'India Becoming' at the Delhi airport. I must admit that was really touched by two aspects: 1) Usually the writings of sociologists are not easy to understand for a layman, however your book was easy to understand. Must confess the only other sociologist whose writing i could understand is Andre Beteille. 2) your ability to give a dispassionate commentary on development , like a seasoned journalist who have portrayed the benefits and price that development has led to without biasing the same with your own preference Having read the book, i am grappling with two questions, which i would request you to answer: 1)My first question is related to the emerging Social identity of India in the coming years, it is based on the following developments a) emergence of a significant middle class India b) Class identity becoming more prominent than caste identity in the urban context. This leads to my question ''what would be the identity of this middle class Indian in 2030, how would he exert his identity to his ingroup or outgroup." 2) my second question is interrelated ' the role brands and consumerism will play in giving an identity to this middle class who by virtue of numbers and increasing purchasing power is also India's revered consuming class?'. would be delighted to get your views, regards shubho