MAKING INDIA AWESOME
Chetan Bhagat
Rupa
192 pages, Rs 176
Chetan Bhagat is a controversial figure in Indian literature. As the best-selling author constantly reminds everyone prepared to lend him an ear, his books sell millions and some have enjoyed that ultimate arbiter of popular taste in India: Bollywood acceptance. Mr Bhagat is frequently caricatured by the elite who despite his success - or perhaps because of it - dismiss him as a minor writer enjoying unwarranted attention. Or to borrow from Bhagat-speak, he sucks in their estimation.
Lost in this cacophony is one quality that distinguishes Mr Bhagat from many of his contemporaries: his acute understanding of his audience. Responding to critics who disparage his books as "safe", he once told author Jai Arjun Singh that he still manages to shock the middle class who may not have been exposed to broader literature. For instance, his decision to allow his protagonists to engage in pre-marital sex in one of his novels led to accusations of having ruined the girl's life.
Or as he put it: "There have even been readers who know so little about novels that they don't realise this is fiction: I get letters reproaching me for ruining Neha's life by telling this story. 'Tumne Neha ki zindagi barbaad kar di, ab uss se shaadi kaun karegaa?' [You have ruined Neha's life, who will marry her now?]." Remarkably, he tells this anecdote without the slightest attempt to disparage his readers.
In recent years, Mr Bhagat has moved beyond fiction and fashioned himself as a public intellectual. But unlike the stuffy academic types who have long dominated India's public discourse, he speaks for the youth - primarily of the neo-middle class - which is tired of the status quo and eager to embrace a more aspirational India. It is the same audience that laps up Mr Bhagat's novels as well - he has seamlessly moved from writing fiction to explaining the nuances of governance to them. It is an enviable achievement that re-emphasises his remarkable grasp of his audience.
This little preamble is crucial to understanding Mr Bhagat's new book, Making India Awesome. As he helpfully informs us in the introduction, awesome is what the youth describe anything that is "cool, aspirational, worthy of respect". And who better placed than Mr Bhagat - India's youth icon - to guide her journey towards the exalted status of awesomeness? And unlike the cheering hordes engaged in mindless political fights on social media, Mr Bhagat speaks from a position of considered neutrality - the voice of the "caring engaged Indians".
From improving governance to maximising India's demographic dividend, no issue escapes Mr Bhagat's all-encompassing gaze. And the shtick is pretty simple. For all of India's multitudes of problems, there is no one else to blame except "we the people". Our uncritical thinking and limited vision have let down this otherwise supremely endowed land. Luckily for India, Mr Bhagat is prepared to play the national shrink and gently guide her towards the right path. He even manages to offer the Congress party a revival plan, asking it to replace the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty with "young and dynamic" leaders like Sachin Piliot, Milind Deora and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Incidentally, all three are dynasts themselves but then, consistency is an overrated virtue anyway! And to give credit where it's due, Mr Bhagat more than delivers on his promise to offer a solution to every problem however "simplistic" it may sound.
Much of this is trivial and uninspiring writing that would fail to engage anyone with more than a passing interest in India. Occasionally, the dangerous prejudices Mr Bhagat, and by extension his readers, harbour shine through. Why is corruption still around despite India having elected two of her big "political stars" in the form of Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi? Simple enough. It is the revenge of the oppressed who are susceptible to the allure of handouts from corrupt politicians. Upper caste/upper class Hindus like Mr Bhagat simply have to grin and bear it. As if this group is above all considerations of caste or community and is never tempted by government subsidies. Mr Bhagat simply massacres Ashis Nandy's much more nuanced rumination on the relationship between caste and corruption but in the context of this book, it is par for the course.
Perhaps there is one area in which Mr Bhagat's voice can play a powerful role. Take his essays on society and equality, which constitute significant portions of his book. He highlights the hypocrisy of the average citizen in its various manifestations - from alcohol to gay rights - and makes a strong case for social liberalism, arguing that it is an essential prerequisite for India's development. But unlike the fire-breathing liberals who cannot countenance any conception of society that is not a faithful replication of their beliefs, the author is gently chiding. He never talks down to his audience - he even understands their prejudices and this sympathetic tone may influence far more people than what angry and hectoring columnists manage.
To borrow that cliche so beloved of foreign authors writing on India, it simultaneously exists in multiple centuries. Mr Bhagat's book may not offer any riveting insights on this fascinating land but his ability to reflect and articulate the concerns and even prejudices of the urban but perhaps not-yet-urbane youth will continue to make him an important and influential voice.
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