A Nation of Idiots

This polarising and provocative Indian bestseller fences with terribly tricky social, moral, and cultural dilemmas facing modern Indians, as it makes sense of one of the world’s most complex societies.

WE INDIANS ARE AN INTERESTING BUNCH. Intolerant to the debate on intolerance, but tolerant of religious intolerance. We cling onto age-old traditions, but a holiday can alter our accent. To us, caste and community is a badge of trust, religion is a line of control and a godman is an anti-depressant.

We won’t stop at a zebra crossing, but we will damn well stop on it. We build things to prove our worth and break things to prove a point. We love the concept of independence, but we need our parents to help raise our kids. And we scripted the Kamasutra. Easy to forget, since we also ruined sex.

So how do we tell the real from the farcical? The farcical from the nutty? And the nutty from the downright ridiculous? Easy. We just go along.

Daksh Tyagi's funny and insightful 'A Nation of Idiots' is the ideal guide to surviving the modern Indian life with your scruples intact.