Events

Book Launch and Discussion on ‘The Truth About Us: The Politics of Information from Manu to Modi’ by Sanjoy Chakravorty

Date and Time

June 20, 2019

6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Location

Lecture Room-II, India International Centre Annexe

Panelists
Sanjoy Chakravorty

Professor of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University

Sanjay Srivastava

Professor of Sociology, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi

Philip Oldenburg

Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science, Columbia University

Josy Joseph

Investigative Journalist

The discussion will be moderated by Neelanjan Sircar, Senior Visiting Fellow, Centre for Policy Research.

About the Book:

In this exciting new book, Sanjoy Chakraborty argues that the political manipulation of information has created what are taken to be the “truths” of India. It shows how religion and caste identities like Hindu, Dalit, and Tribal were invented by the British and how they are being repackaged in the information age through the existential debate between Hindutva and pluralism.

About the Author:

Sanjoy Chakravorty is Professor of Geography, Urban Studies, and Global Studies at Temple University. He has authored several acclaimed books. The most recent of these are The Other One PercentThe Price of LandFragments of Inequality, and Made in India. He also writes fiction.

About the Panellists:

Sanjay Srivastava is Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. His key books include Constructing Post-colonial IndiaPassionate Modernity, and Entangled Urbanism.

Philip Oldenburg is Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science at Columbia University.  He is editor or co-editor of ten volumes in The Asia Society’s India Briefing series, and author of India, Pakistan, and Democracy: Solving the Puzzle of Divergent Paths.

Josy Joseph is a well-known investigative journalist, most recently serving as National Security Editor at The Hindu. He is author of A Feast of Vultures: The Hidden Business of Democracy in India.

Tea/coffee and biscuits will be served at 6 p.m.

Please RSVP at president.cpr@cprindia.org.