In 1991, the Indian state’s new economic policies led to a greater role of the market. A public discourse that had till then been defined by self-reliance, equity and austerity had to be refashioned. The Indian middle class learnt that ‘thrift’ was not a virtue, and ‘shopping was legitimate pleasure’.

This period witnessed other significant developments: the rise of Hindutva; assertion of marginalised castes; and increasing institutionalisation of feminism. The book details how consumerism, combined with ideas of individualism, empowerment and choice in a contemporary public culture, paved the way for an instant, feel-good, and then aggressive nationalism.

The chapters offer detailed studies of advertisements; everyday details in the English-language print media; the communicative abundance of television; the dangers of instant access and unequal ignorance; and the dynamics of a transformed public sphere.

This revised edition comes with a specially written Epilogue, which chronicles recent events in Indian society, thereby updating the book.