‘Prakash is a virtuoso of modern Indian cultural politics and nobody else could have so thoroughly and urgently dissected hate aesthetics, tracing the unconscious somatic attraction that leads a moving, leaping shame-riddled body to join a mob outside a mosque in contemporary India.’
- Zara Chowdhary, PEN America finalist and winner of the Shakti Bhatt Memorial Prize for The Lucky Ones: A Memoir
In today’s India, political power does not merely govern as an invisible force—it marches, roars, dances and displays itself in colour, sound and action, as spectacle. From the beating of drums and the blare of loudspeakers to the rise of symbols such as the bulldozer and intimidating stickers and statues, depictions of political might surround us—bold, sensorial and all-pervasive.
In Spectacle State, Brahma Prakash looks beyond leaders, ideology and speeches, towards everyday life, objects and culture in India—religious processions, street performances, monuments, music and festivals. For it is in these charged liminal spaces that violence appears in the garb of celebration, hate as preservation of self-identity and devotion as display.
Thought-provoking and seminal, this book traces how fear, pride, victimhood, anger and piety are produced and circulated in today’s India as spectacle. It asks how Hindutva is changing our day-to-day expressions and relationships beyond ideology.