A must-read account of the efforts by Indian citizens to resist the tools of authoritarianism.
About the Book
As the pillars of democracy crumble across the globe, big and small actions of resistance prop up hope and keep alive a way to rebuild. In the past few decades, ordinary folk in India have stood up to repressive state authority over and over again. Their vital acts of hope preserve the collective spirit of resistance and unwavering resilience necessary to continue the fight for democracy.
Audacious Hope is a careful, rigorous archive of these struggles, including the protests that united farmers across state borders in 2020 and the national outcry following the controversial CAA legislation. From the myriad ways people came to the aid of their fellow citizens during the pandemic to the testing of free-speech boundaries by cultural activists, This book undertakes the task of documenting resistance in its many forms.
Roy challenges the reader with his account of how proud people are battling to save their beloved democracy. The question is, how can we, through individual and collective action, resist authoritarianism, casteism and majoritarianism? The answer is, of course, through the audacity of hope.
Speaking on the launch of his book, political researcher & author Indrajit Roy said, “Few can doubt that India’s democracy faces an existential threat today. But ordinary Indians- farmers, students, workers, lawyers, doctors, and activists- are resisting the erosion of our beloved democracy. Troubled times invite despair, but the manifold efforts of Indians striving to defend their democracy shows that hope is not lost. Chronicling their efforts is essential to building an archive of how democracy may yet be saved in India and beyond.”
Westland’s Ajitha GS said, “Indrajit Roy’s book is an important archival project that serves two purposes: to remind us of the challenges that continue to lie ahead and to tell us that there is always hope. We are delighted to be able to publish this book in our research- and narrative-driven Westland Non-Fiction list.”
Indrajit Roy is Professor of Global Development Politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of York. He specialises in the study of Indian politics in comparative and historical perspectives. Roy is co- editor of the Cambridge Companion to Indian Politics and Society, forthcoming from Cambridge University Press in 2024. He holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford.