Announcing my debut novel, Darklands. From Penguin Random House India.

Serbia. And before that, Hungary. Proves one thing. You can rig elections. You can gerrymander elections. Which is exactly what Orban did. You can rule ruthlessly. You can term genuine anger and discontent as 'foreign funded', albeit with no proof. You can lie through and through. But people will show the way. The arc of history is long, and is sometimes convoluted. But it bends towards people who refuse to be silenced.

Can good people here recommend some fantastic books on modern Brazilian history and the rise of Lula da Silva?

The State cannot fight political charisma. This past week, I spent a lot of time musing over Sharjeel Imam's interview. I am a staunch Nehruvian liberal. I have much to disagree with Sharjeel. But I know what political charisma is. And I see it in him. Max Weber, in Economy and Society, defines charisma as, “a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities." Prison, hardship, sacrifice. These are ingredients that only add to an individual's charisma. It makes the individual, in the eyes of the masses, into a figure who has suffered for a cause greater than himself. It, therefore, endows in the individual what Weber calls, 'moral authority.' Which, by the way, transcends the ordinary boundaries of politics, and whose very incarceration becomes a testament to the power the State fears he wields.

There’s a point we cannot overlook. The incarceration of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam has much to do with the Indian State’s deep-seated, and dare I say, historical fear of a tall, grassroots leader emerging from the Muslim community. Ironically, by incarcerating them, the State may have done precisely what it feared: given birth to two leaders with a deep, almost indelible charisma. Say what you will, but true leaders are forged through sacrifice, and prison has only deepened the charisma that comes with it.

Having read through Sharjeel Imam’s interview in detail, there’s one point he’s woefully wrong: History of Congress, Jinnah and the Muslim League. And if you’re using Perry Anderson to buttress your points, do note that his points were butchered by Nivedita Menon, Sudipta Kaviraj and Partha Chatterjee.