The difference between India and New India is in the state of your choice: India, as an idea than just a nation is too civilisational, pluralistic and tolerant, compared to the contemporary nature of India, i.e., New India, infected and inured with radicalisation of one religion over others, intolerant to heretical views and nevertheless anti-national.
Like a product and human life, nations, too, are privileged with life cycle theorem. India is experiencing the same. Like any other nation, in such an epoch wherein the ecosystem of the international system is too leaning towards the axioms of protectionism, illiberal cognition and Dunning-Kruger effect.
The times in ‘new’ India are such that slavery looks better than liberties, conflicts look better than peace, and ignorance looks better than wisdom. So much of the social discourse and other scientific narratives have been hijacked, Strawman fallacies and other logical fallacies like whataboutries, appeal to authority, etc. seem a good escape to counter the post-truth. From disciplining the media, dissents, activists, free speech, textbooks, taxpayers and films to the censoring of the books, OTT series, thought processes, privacy, identities and individualism, the New India has become a forced ratiocination on the lives of Indians.
That conspicuous ‘state of unity’ built using taxes, has considerably failed to ‘unite from differences’. Anything that is different and heretical seems to experience saffronizing suffocation. ‘Unity in differences’ is a drama that Indians pretend. The social cognition of New India prefers military dictatorship or one-man ruler than the features of liberty, fraternity and equity. Such is the dystopian characteristic of New India that marginalization of dissents and religious/cultural/sexual minorities seems like the new normal. Demonetization and GST look like new economics. Islamophobia and Homophobia looks like the new culture. Horse trading looks like new politics. And, cows have become the new national animals!
The inflationary sexual crimes and the deflationary gender justice in New India are simply because of the Nehruvian policies. The rising unemployment in New India is because of Pakistan’s trade policy with China, and nonetheless, the growth in non-performing assets is because of Rahul Gandhi’s jokes. If New India were to invite Mogambo (from the film ‘Mr India‘) on 26th January 2020, he would voluntarily admit himself in a mental hospital at Thane after selfie activism with the host.