Rajeev Mantri and Harsh Gupta Madhusudan on “A New Idea of India”

Rajeev Mantri and Harsh Gupta Madhusudan discussed their book, A New Idea of India: Individual Rights in a Civilisational State, at MOI Global’s Meet-the-Author Summer Forum 2021.

The full session is available exclusively to members of MOI Global.

Members, log in below to access the full session.

Not a member?

Thank you for your interest.  Please note that MOI Global is closed to new members at this time. If you would like to join the waiting list, complete the following form:

First name:

Last name:

Email address:

City / state / country:

Company:

How did you hear about MOI Global? Select Member referral Staff This website Media / Internet Other

If referral, please provide member's name:

Which of the following applies most closely to you? Select Investment Firm - Head Investment Firm - Analyst or PM Institutional Allocator - Firm C-Level Executive Institutional Allocator - Firm Employee Family Office - Head or Co-Owner Family Office - Employee Non-Investment Firm - C-Level Executive Non-Investment Firm - Employee Other

How do you hope to add value to the community?

Leave this field empty if you're human:

Our Meet-the-Author Summer Forum aims to inspire members with reading ideas.

This conversation is available as an episode of Explore Great Books, a member podcast of MOI Global. (Learn how to access member podcasts.)

About the book:

For the better part of seven decades after independence, the Nehruvian idea of India held sway in India’s polity, even if it was not always in consonance with the views of Jawaharlal Nehru himself. Three key features constituted the crux of the Nehruvian way: socialism, which in practice devolved to corruption and stagnation; secularism, which boxed citizens into group membership and diluted individual identity; and non-alignment, which effectively placed India in the Communist camp.

In the early nineties, India started a gradual withdrawal from this path. But it was only in 2019, with Narendra Modi’s second successive win in the general elections, that this philosophy is finally being replaced by a worldview that acknowledges India as an ancient civilisation, even if a young republic, and that sees citizens as equal for developmental and other purposes. A New Idea of India constructs and expounds on a new framework beyond the rough and tumble of partisan politics.

Lucid in its laying out of ideas and policies while taking a novel position, this book is illuminated by years of research and the authors’ first-hand experiences, as citizens, entrepreneurs and investors, of the vagaries and challenges of India.

About the authors:

Harsh Gupta Madhusudan is an India-based public markets investor. He has written extensively on economics, finance and politics for Mint, Swarajya, The Wall Street Journal, The Indian Express and other publications. Harsh enrolled to study at IIT Delhi, before dropping out. He graduated from Dartmouth College with an AB degree in economics. He also holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Rajeev Mantri is an India-based entrepreneur and investor, investing in public companies and early-stage technology ventures. He has contributed articles on political economy, technology, investing and entrepreneurship to Mint, Swarajya, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Indian Express and other publications. Rajeev graduated with a BS in materials science and engineering from Northwestern University, and an MBA from Columbia University, specialising in private equity and value investing.