Nalin Mehta

This is a small book about big disruptions.
Over two decades, and across two different political regimes, the world’s largest democracy combined the rise of cheap mobile phones, cheap data and a unique digital ID system to create an unprecedented revolution in digital public goods. This included the rise of path-breaking fintech systems like Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the creation of a new kind of welfare state based on digital direct benefit transfers and interlinked e-governance… Show more

This is a small book about big disruptions.
Over two decades, and across two different political regimes, the world’s largest democracy combined the rise of cheap mobile phones, cheap data and a unique digital ID system to create an unprecedented revolution in digital public goods. This included the rise of path-breaking fintech systems like Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the creation of a new kind of welfare state based on digital direct benefit transfers and interlinked e-governance systems that brought almost half a billion people who never had bank accounts into the financial system.
India’s Techade pieces together the story of how this digital revolution came to be. It is a crisp, yet comprehensive account of the systems, the innovators, the processes and the political will that drove the digital enterprise across India.
A must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the transformative nature of technology and its deep impact on Indian society, politics and culture. Show less

In election after election since 2014, both at the Union and state levels, the BJP has won more elections than it has lost—a clear indication of growth beyond its core Hindu base. The question is, why do so many people across divisions of caste, religion and gender vote for a party with unapologetically aggressive Hindutva politics? Are its much-publicised development schemes, whatever their flaws, the big pull factor? Or the active mobilisation of the RSS cadre to its cause? In this… Show more

In election after election since 2014, both at the Union and state levels, the BJP has won more elections than it has lost—a clear indication of growth beyond its core Hindu base. The question is, why do so many people across divisions of caste, religion and gender vote for a party with unapologetically aggressive Hindutva politics? Are its much-publicised development schemes, whatever their flaws, the big pull factor? Or the active mobilisation of the RSS cadre to its cause? In this fascinating revisionist history, political scientist and journalist Nalin Mehta examines how the BJP became the world’s largest political party. He goes beyond the usual narrative of the party’s Hindutva politics to explain how, under Narendra Modi, it reshaped the Indian polity using its own brand of social engineering. This reconstruction was cleverly powered by new caste coalitions, the claim of a new welfare state that focused on marginalised social groups and the making of a women voter base.

Based on data from three unique indices—the Mehta–Singh Social Index, which studies the caste composition of Indian political parties; the Narad Index, which calculates communication patterns across topics and audiences; and Poll Niti, which connects and tallies hundreds of political and economic datasets—The New BJP’s full of startling insights into the way both the party and the country function. Previously untapped historical records, exclusive interviews with party leaders and comprehensive reportage from across India provide a fresh understanding of the BJP’s growth areas, including the Northeast, women voters and South India. A lucid and objective study of the BJP and India today, this is a book that demands engagement and debate from every side of the political divide. Show less

Television touches almost everyone in India. It is rapidly expanding and becoming socially ever-more powerful but is simultaneously facing a crisis of credibility. In Behind a Billion Screens, Nalin Mehta looks closely at how Indian television works, how TV channels make their money, or not, and what this means for the cacophony that appears on our screens.Given that television is a strategically vital social gateway for power, he also probes the ownership of television networks — politicians… Show more

Television touches almost everyone in India. It is rapidly expanding and becoming socially ever-more powerful but is simultaneously facing a crisis of credibility. In Behind a Billion Screens, Nalin Mehta looks closely at how Indian television works, how TV channels make their money, or not, and what this means for the cacophony that appears on our screens.Given that television is a strategically vital social gateway for power, he also probes the ownership of television networks — politicians, corporations, real-estate tycoons and tells us why this matters.Based on extensive research with industry leaders, channel heads, policy makers and politicians, this is a comprehensive report on the state of the Indian television industry, how it is shapeshifting in response to the ferment of mobiles and social media and its vital role in the wider Indian story. Everybody watches television, everybody has an opinion on it and everybody claims to have solutions but Mehta brings new research and understanding to illuminate a topic that often raises a lot of heat and smoke but little light.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:
'Nalin is probably the best media academic in India.. this book is a seminal contribution to the evolving debate about the Indian media.' Uday Shankar, CEO Star India
'Remarkable for being both a distinguished academic and an experienced journalist, Mehta brings the knowledge of the battle-hardened insider, the prose of the gifted story-teller and the analysis of a fine scholar. This book is a major contribution to media scholarship- and a ripping good read," Robin Jeffrey, Professor Emeritus, ANU
'Indian television is dead and this fine book is its obituary", Rajdeep Sardesai, Consulting Editor, India Today Group and author
"Particularly like the racy casual style that makes serious matters so clear and interesting." Jawhar Sircar, CEO, Prasar Bharti Show less

‘Olympics: The India Story’ (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2008), with Boria Majumdar. 391 pages
2nd edition, revised and updated published as ‘India and the Olympics’ (Oxford, New York: Routledge, 2010),
3rd edition, revised and updated published as Olympics: The India Story (New Delhi: HarperSports [imprint of HarperCollins], 2012.

When and how did the Olympics movement take root in India? Who were the early players and why did they appropriate Olympic sport to further their… Show more

‘Olympics: The India Story’ (New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2008), with Boria Majumdar. 391 pages
2nd edition, revised and updated published as ‘India and the Olympics’ (Oxford, New York: Routledge, 2010),
3rd edition, revised and updated published as Olympics: The India Story (New Delhi: HarperSports [imprint of HarperCollins], 2012.

When and how did the Olympics movement take root in India? Who were the early players and why did they appropriate Olympic sport to further their political ambitions?
In most accounts of Olympic history across the world, India’s Olympics journey is a mere footnote. Olympics: The India Story sets that right. Drawing on previously unused archival sources, it demonstrates that India was an important strategic outpost in the Olympic family. It explores why the Indian elite became obsessed with the Olympic ideal at the turn of the twentieth century and how this relates to India’s quest for a meaningful role on the international stage.
First published to critical acclaim in 2008, this book has seen several reprints, and revised editions, thus bringing India’s Olympics story up-to-date. Show less

The birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and the land that produced Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, Gujarat has been at the centre-stage of South Asia’s political iconography for more than a century. As Gujarat, created as a separate state in 1960, celebrates its golden jubilee this collection of essays critically explores the many paradoxes and complexities of modernity and politics in the state. The contributors provide much-needed insights into the dominant impulses of identity… Show more

The birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and the land that produced Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, Gujarat has been at the centre-stage of South Asia’s political iconography for more than a century. As Gujarat, created as a separate state in 1960, celebrates its golden jubilee this collection of essays critically explores the many paradoxes and complexities of modernity and politics in the state. The contributors provide much-needed insights into the dominant impulses of identity formation, cultural change, political mobilisation, religious movements and modes of communication that define modern Gujarat.

This book touches upon a fascinating range of topics – the identity debates at the heart of the idea of modern Gujarat; the trajectory of Gujarati politics from the 1950s to the present day; bootlegging, the practice of corruption and public power; vegetarianism and violence; urban planning and the enabling infrastructure of antagonism; global diasporas and provincial politics – providing new insights into understanding the enigma of Gujarat. Going well beyond the boundaries of Gujarat and engaging with larger questions about democracy and diversity in India, this book will appeal to those interested in South Asian Studies, politics, sociology, history as well as the general reader.

This book was first published as a special issue of South Asian History and Culture. Show less

The Commonwealth Games were Delhi’s biggest sporting event ever, and also one that left a large imprint of national politics, also becoming a byword and the ills in India’s polity.
Published in the months ahead of the Games, this book is primarily the story of the politics of these Games, that money that was spent and the priorities that shaped them.
With access to hitherto unexplored archives, including primary documents from the first-ever British Empire Games in 1930, this book is also… Show more

The Commonwealth Games were Delhi’s biggest sporting event ever, and also one that left a large imprint of national politics, also becoming a byword and the ills in India’s polity.
Published in the months ahead of the Games, this book is primarily the story of the politics of these Games, that money that was spent and the priorities that shaped them.
With access to hitherto unexplored archives, including primary documents from the first-ever British Empire Games in 1930, this book is also the first and only attempt to place Delhi 2010 in perspective within the history of the Commonwealth Games, what they mean to the world at large and indeed the larger question of why need a Commonwealth at all. Show less

Whether one loves or hates cricket, understands what turns square legs into fine legs, or how mid-offs become silly, the game is a cultural and social force impacting far beyond the playing field. The Changing Face of Cricket is an indispensable guide to cricket’s many cultural contours, uncovering its social meaning and its deeper imprint.

For cricket enthusiasts there is nothing to match the meaningful contests and excitement generated by the game’s subtle shifts in play. Conversely… Show more

Whether one loves or hates cricket, understands what turns square legs into fine legs, or how mid-offs become silly, the game is a cultural and social force impacting far beyond the playing field. The Changing Face of Cricket is an indispensable guide to cricket’s many cultural contours, uncovering its social meaning and its deeper imprint.

For cricket enthusiasts there is nothing to match the meaningful contests and excitement generated by the game’s subtle shifts in play. Conversely, huge swathes of the world’s population find cricket the most obscure and bafflingly impenetrable of sports. The Changing Face of Cricket attempts to account for this paradox.

The Changing Face of Cricket provides an overview of the various ways in which social scientists have analyzed the game’s cultural impact. The book’s international analysis encompasses Australia, the Caribbean, England, India, Ireland, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Its interdisciplinary approach allies anthropology, history, literary criticism, political studies and sociology with contributions from cricket administrators and journalists. The collection addresses historical and contemporary issues such as gender equality, global sports development, the impact of cricket mega-events, and the growing influence of commercial and television interests culminating in the Twenty20 revolution.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
"a painstaking and commendable effort to study the complex cultural impact of cricket from imperial times to the present day of globalization…a comprehensive and highly welcome multidisciplinary examination of the evolution of cricket against broader social and political context, covering an impressively expansive geography" — Sport in Society
Show less

(Awarded Asian Publishing Award 2009 for Best Book/Best Writer on Asian Media)
This book traces the evolution of satellite television in India and how it effected major changes in political culture, the state, and expressions of nationhood. Explaining how television was adapted to suit Indian conditions, the book specifically focuses on the emergence of satellite news channels. It shows how live television used new forms of technology to plug into existing modes of communication, which in… Show more

(Awarded Asian Publishing Award 2009 for Best Book/Best Writer on Asian Media)
This book traces the evolution of satellite television in India and how it effected major changes in political culture, the state, and expressions of nationhood. Explaining how television was adapted to suit Indian conditions, the book specifically focuses on the emergence of satellite news channels. It shows how live television used new forms of technology to plug into existing modes of communication, which in turn led to the creation of a new visual language – national, regional and local. The story of satellite television is also the story of India’s encounter with globalisation. This meticulously researched and persuasively argued book tracks how the two have changed the face of mass media and impacted the lives of millions of Indians.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
'Mehta has done a remarkable job.. impeccably researched, crisply written" The Indian Express
'Wonderfully astute and insightful", BusinessWorld
"Authoritative, well-documented and scholarly study" Financial Express
"Well-researched and well-written.. eye-opening", Mint
"For every thinking man, a must on the bookshelf" Hindustan Times Show less

Edited by Nalin Mehta
London: Routledge, 2008. 184 pages
2nd edition: Delhi: Routledge, 2009.184 pages.

This book examines the development of television in India since the early 1990s, and its implications for Indian society more widely. Until 1991, India possessed only a single state-owned television channel, but since then there has been a rapid expansion in independent satellite channels which came as a complete break from the statist control of the past. This book explores this… Show more

Edited by Nalin Mehta
London: Routledge, 2008. 184 pages
2nd edition: Delhi: Routledge, 2009.184 pages.

This book examines the development of television in India since the early 1990s, and its implications for Indian society more widely. Until 1991, India possessed only a single state-owned television channel, but since then there has been a rapid expansion in independent satellite channels which came as a complete break from the statist control of the past. This book explores this transformation, explaining how television, a medium that developed in the industrial West, was adapted to suit Indian conditions, and in turn has altered Indian social practices, making possible new ways of imagining identities, conducting politics and engaging with the state.

In particular, satellite television initially came to India as the representative of global capitalism but it was appropriated by Indian entrepreneurs and producers who Indianized it. Considering the full gamut of Indian television – from “national” networks in English and Hindi to the state of regional language networks – this book elucidates the transformative impact of television on a range of important social practices, including politics and democracy, sport and identity formation, cinema and popular culture. Overall, it shows how the story of television in India is also the story of India’s encounter with the forces of globalisation.
Show less