'The Identity Project' explains multiple fault lines of India's democracy

Can India, as a democracy, progress without reverting to the fragile, papered-over secularism of the past? Rahul Bhatia explores this question in his book

The Identity Project: The Unmaking of a Democracy

Author: Rahul Bhatia

Publisher: Westland

Pages: 449

Price: Rs 899

This is a frightening book to read. Because it describes in detail how difficult it is to survive as a religious minority in India, particularly as an Indian Muslim.

The titles of the book may seem needlessly contentious to many. Why should an attempt at a national identity unmake India’s great democracy? What is wrong with giving citizenship to troubled Hindus who belong to other nations? How is India threatened by this? Why should India not document its own citizens and ask for proof that