Rajeev Bhargava, a scholar of eminence has over the years written a good deal on the principles of political ethics with specific reference to contemporary Indian society. The present work sums up the challenge in its opening lines: ‘India’s collective ethical identity is under duress. We don’t seem to agree currently on what our collective good is.’ This makes for unsettling reading more so in the light of his detailed commentary on the basic principles of our Constitution. But it also gives us hope because it reminds us of what as a nation, we should and can achieve. Mandatory reading for those who wish to make India a better, more humane society. - Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha (2007-2017)

Rajeev Bhargava writes because he cannot but write. Even as Ustad Rashid Khan cannot but sing, Malavika Sarukkai cannot but dance. And Jatin Das's brush cannot be still. And I cannot but read him for I want to see current affairs subjected to ethical analysis, valuational norms, and the litmus test of 'What is the intention?' And there Bhargava's writing never fails me. -Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Governor of West Bengal

Rajeev has been writing, objectively and analytically, on various issues now emerging as challenges to our constitutional ethos. This collection of essays is but a small sample of his thoughts written with uncanny foresight. He raises many provocative questions in his essays and tells us where we are in fulfilling the dream of a just, fair and equal society and where our constitutional democracy is taking us, slowly but surely. -Justice Madan Lokur, former Justice of Supreme Court of India

Rajeev Bhargava’s Between Hope and Despair is a thoughtful look at the social and moral turmoil that faces us in modern India. Examining the nation’s past and present while looking toward its future, Bhargava’s writing covers a wide range of issues, producing an elegant reflection on India’s crisis of ethics -Shashi Tharoor, MP, author and public intellectual

Rajeev, the optimist, through his latest book, "Between Hope and Despair", wishes to heal the growing divisions in India over its identity. He lucidly, insightfully states his own views and hopes a proper response from others will start a meaningful dialogue. Indeed, each of us can dip into this collection, choose an essay on one of the many relevant issues, reflect on it, and contribute to this conversation - Anu Aga, Former Chair of Thermax and Teach for India

The nuance and complexity that Rajeev brings into every question is invaluable. He nudges us towards the possibility of a more equal and just society - T M Krishna, Musician and writer

This is a deep and probing analysis of India's democracy as it is today. It was born out of a dream of inclusivity. But fact is it stands over an area marked by age old fault lines of caste, class, religion and gender. These essays are a profound analysis of how the unavoidable seismic jolts have shaped and reshaped India in the last 75 years - Mrinal Pande, writer and former chief editor of Hindustan Dainik

Rajeev Bhargava was born in 1954 and educated in Delhi and Oxford. He is currently an honorary fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (Delhi) and the director of its Parekh Institute of Indian Thought. He was also the centre’s director from 2007 to 2014. He has taught at the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi). Bhargava has lectured, taught and held visiting professorship at several universities. He has been a fellow at Harvard University (Massachusetts, US), University of Bristol (UK), Institute of Advanced Studies (Jerusalem), Wissenschaftskolleg (Berlin) and the Institute for Human Sciences (Vienna). He has also been a Distinguished Resident Scholar at the Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life, Columbia University (New York), and the Asia Chair of Sciences Po (Paris), and between 2015 and 2017, a Berggruen fellow at Stanford (California), Tsinghua (Beijing) and New York Universities. Between 2014 and 2018, he was a professorial fellow at the Institute of Social Justice, ACU (Sydney). In 2022, he was a senior research fellow at the University of Leipzig (Germany). He is currently an honorary fellow at Balliol College, Oxford (UK). Bhargava’s work on individualism and secularism is internationally acclaimed. His publications include Individualism in Social Science (1992), What Is Political Theory and Why Do We Need It? (2010) and The Promise of India’s Secular Democracy (2010). His edited works include Secularism and Its Critics (1998), Politics and Ethics of the Indian Constitution (2008) and Politics, Ethics and the Self: Re-reading Hind Swaraj (2022). Bhargava comes into his own when he is in the classroom. Lately, by contributing regularly for The Hindu, he has also become more publicly engaged. He lives in Delhi with his wife, Tani, who will soon publish her first novel. They have two daughters: Aranyani, a Bharatnatyam dancer, and Vanya, an intellectual historian.