HarperCollins Presents ‘India’s Blind Spot’

INDIA’S BLIND SPOT

Understanding and Managing Our Cities

by Devashish Dhar

A comprehensive study on the phenomenon of Indian urbanization

Provides policy solutions and innovations to tackle the complex issues that plague our urban spaces

Hardcover | Public Policy | Non-fiction| 420 pp | Rs 899

Available Wherever Books Are Sold

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‘Does a brilliant job of combining economics, history and international relations to highlight the importance of well-planned, sustainable cities for India, and to illustrate how to implement sound urbanization … Insightful, evidence-backed, comprehensive, progressive and scholarly.’

– Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa and former CEO, NITI Aayog

Author Devashish Dhar says, ‘Our collective archaic understanding of the potential of cities led me to conclude that our cities have become our “greatest, biggest, and perhaps the most fatal blind spot”. India’s growing economy, the changing role of demographics and technology, the global pandemic, and the reshaping of the global order has exposed the fault lines in our cities. Still living with Gandhi’s belief that “The soul of India lives in its villages”, India is overdue to rethink not only its cities, but the role of urbanization. Cities are humankind’s longest-running experiment and India’s experiment with it is marred with its own challenges and opportunities.

‘I wrote this book to unpack the evolution of the role of cities since the agricultural revolution, and to understand what role Indian cities will play in the 21st century. It is an attempt to explain the entire range of India’s urban issues, as well as the policy solutions to tackle them. The book reimagines city economies and focuses on matters of urban infrastructure, resource utilization, planning and governance, building urban resilience, providing safety and inclusivity, resolving transport congestion, and mainstreaming vulnerable communities, among others.’

Prema Govindan, Senior Commissioning Editor, Literary, says, ‘I wanted a book that comprehensively understands India’s cities and comes up with solutions to the umpteen number of problems that plague them. Devashish’s book is a deep dive into everything urban, and we are delighted to publish him.’

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Indian policy has been characterized by a denial of urbanization. This has prevented us from meaningfully addressing the blizzard of policy issues that come with the phenomenon: governance deficit, infrastructure shortfall, mismanagement of land, lack of focus on growing city economies, improper access to potable water,  incessant flooding, traffic congestion, insufficient urban green and public spaces, and the marginalization of the urban poor, migrants and vulnerable communities, among others. Consequently, cities have truly become India’s blind spot. And blind spots can be fatal.

In this book, Devashish Dhar gives fresh insight into how we have reached this point of exasperation, and provides policy solutions and innovations to tackle the complex issues that plague our urban spaces. His training and work in urban policy leads him to conclude that Indian cities will be at the forefront of driving key global political-economy trends in the coming decades, and that our cities are critical to achieving India’s promised destiny. With astute analysis of the past and future prospects of Indian cities, India’s Blind Spot is a comprehensive study on the phenomenon of Indian urbanization.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Devashish Dhar is a former Public Policy Specialist at NITI Aayog. He is a Mason Fellow from the Harvard Kennedy School and Li Ka Shing Scholar from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore. He is also a Raisina Fellow, an IVLP Fellow, and has authored several articles for national publications.

ADVANCE PRAISE

‘India’s Blind Spot combines an incisive diagnosis of the problem with an unabashed faith in the resilience and potential of the city. Dhar’s nuanced analysis leaves much to be considered: we have a great deal to do if our cities are to survive and thrive in the long term. I believe that policymakers, planners and urban residents would do well to read it and take heed of its lessons’

–       Shashi Tharoor, MP for Thiruvananthapuram, Author, Former Under-Secretary-General, United Nations

‘As he did in NITI Aayog, Devashish has brought his piercing insights, intellectual honesty and bucketful of facts to establish that the relevance and importance of Indian cities will only grow exponentially in the coming decades. This is a remarkable debut, which should not be ignored. Over the coming years, I see it emerging as an essential reference on Indian cities and India’s political economy.’

–       Dr Rajiv Kumar, Chairman, Pehle India Foundation, Former Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog

‘Highly accessible … an essential read for not just policymakers and investors, but also curious citizens.’

– Dr Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation (ORF)

‘The book is state-of-the-art and will be of immense value to students, teachers, scholars, administrators and policy-makers.’

– Dr Prasanna K. Mohanty, former chief secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh,author of several books on India’s urban issues

‘Presents a compelling case for India to shed its reluctance and embrace its urban future willingly and confidently.’

– Srikanth Viswanathan, CEO, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy 

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For reviews, excerpts, interviews, and more information, please contact Vandana Rathore at
vandana.rathore@harpercollins.co.in