Years ago when I came across Faking News, I was struck by the sheer ingenuity and audacity of the person behind this digital spoof show, which took the mickey out of the mainstream media for its predictable, biased and often silly coverage of politics and personalities in India. Curiosity made me seek him out.

That first meeting was revelatory. I had expected a brash young man with an in-your-face attitude. Rahul turned out to be soft-spoken, polite, more of a listener than a speaker and had a beguiling smile. I have closely followed his work since then, especially his tireless efforts to create an alternative, Right-of-Centre platform for news and views.

The story he tells in this book helps readers understand the amazing rise of Narendra Modi, first as CM of Gujarat and now as PM of India, and why he is so crazily popular among the masses.

It explains why and how pink champagne Nehruvian socialism died, taking down along with it the Indian faux liberal elite’s over-vaulting sense of entitlement. It offers a post-mortem report on the causes that led to the unmourned demise of pseudo-secularism and the loud clamour in its wake for the recognition of Hindu rights.

India is in a deep churn as the masses render the classes irrelevant and a more rooted, more confident, more nationalist new India takes shape and form. To understand the churn that is happening, read this book.

Kanchan Gupta
Senior journalist and Distinguished Fellow, ORF (Observer Research Foundation)