(Foreword)

There are explicit dangers in writing the foreword of a book by a ‘woke’ turned ‘Sanghi’ like Rahul Roushan as there are no assurances that he would not turn his blazing guns at you on a subject he is most passionate about—Bharat. Recognizing the hazards, I still brave the same.

From ‘making news’ as the creator of Faking News to becoming news by establishing OpIndia as one of the most celebrated online news portals, Rahul’s journey as a man of independent thought has come a full circle.

This book analyses events that have impacted Rahul over the years while contextualizing the political and ideological shifts. Rahul goes back into his own past to understand the paradox of why and how the prejudices and biases against anything and everything connected to the word ‘Hindu’ proudly existed in a deeply religious nation during the Congressi Raj. True to his nature, he does not shy away from admitting to his own such biases.

This book also contains dissent, disagreements and, at times, his negation of certain issues that people presume Rahul holds dear, given his ideology.

From his days at IIM Ahmedabad to him feeling offended at being called a ‘Sanghi’, Rahul’s embrace of the Sanghi label post BJP’s 2014 victory and its reasons mirror the change that millions of Indians have undertaken.

His exasperation with the Sangh Parivar for always downplaying their social and public welfare activities has made way for a calm understanding of why the Sangh operates the way it does and how it has dedicated itself to ‘Vyakti nirman’ and ‘Samajik samrasta’.

While one would believe that this book is autobiographical in nature and exalts Rahul’s life journey, to me this is a story of the coming of age of an average Indian who dared to break the shackles of a Nehruvian past and contribute to creating a New India.

Smriti Zubin Irani
Senior BJP leader and Union Cabinet Minister
(1 December 2020)