Understanding Propaganda: A Study of Media in Contemporary India

Understanding Propaganda: A Study of Media in Contemporary India critically interrogates the subject of media propaganda in India. Situating the rich and varied global scholarship on propaganda within the Indian context, this book argues that mainstream media in India functions less as a watchdog of democracy and more as a conduit for the ideological narratives of the ruling regime. Central to this study is the formulation of a concept the author terms “propaganda infrastructure”, a structural, institutional, and affective network that enables the normalization of exclusionary and authoritarian narratives. While rooted in the Indian experience, this framework offers valuable insights for understanding media complicity in authoritarian regimes globally.

Through a rigorous engagement with conceptual frameworks and grounded empirical analysis, the book reveals how Indian media systematically echoes and amplifies the tenets of Hindu nationalism, promotes anti-minority worldviews, and sustains a climate of Islamophobia. Each chapter draws on empirical illustrations emerging through primary data that demonstrate how key features of propaganda such as repetition, emotional manipulation, enemy construction, and manufactured consent are deeply woven into the fabric of polymedia in contemporary India ranging from television to social media.

This book is essential reading for scholars, journalists, students, and citizens concerned with democracy, media ethics, and the growing convergence between state power and information systems in the digital age.

Arani Basu teaches Sociology and Social Anthropology at Krea University.