Price of the Modi Years is a book authored by Aakar Patel, published by Westland Publications Limited (Westland Books) in 2021.[1][2][3] The book details the history of India since 2014 when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister.[4] It examines the potential human and economic price that it claims India will be paying for the decisions made in the seven years spent under the BJP government since 2014.
The cover art of the book includes 16 charts of India's performance measured by international indices. There is a downward trend in all but one of the indices looked at by the author, including those for democracy, human development index, individual rights, rule of law, press freedom, women’s safety, prosperity, civil liberties, corruption and social cohesion. The only upward trend in those indices is seen in the Doing Business Index of the World Bank, an index that the World Bank abandoned in 2021.[5] Pakistani journalist Jawed Naqvi praised the cover as "clever".[6]
The book examines the potential human and economic price that it claims India will be paying for the decisions made in the seven years spent under the Modi administration since 2014.[7] The author used statistics to describe the damage to India under the BJP government.[8]
The book presents several metrics of performance evaluation of the government—indices, such as the United Nations Development Program Human Development Index, Lowy Institute Asia Power Index, Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index, Freedom House’s Freedom in the World, Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index and others. India had performed badly in 57 out 58 of these indicators. The author notes, "Seen over the years of his two terms, the man in full is revealed, and so is his effect on the nation."[9]
The book discussed the government's handling of dissenter and critics. In the first six months of 2020, the book noted Modi government to have made 2,772 legal demands to censor contents and accounts on Twitter, and it cites incidents such as the raids by government agencies against the news sites NewsClick and Newslaundry, and arrests of activists during the Covid-19 pandemic in India.[9]
Discussing the swift decision making practice of Narendra Modi, the book discussed the 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation in which the cash-centric Indian economy was rendered cashless overnight. During the Covid pandemic, India was given only four hours notice before a nationwide lockdown. Later the government claimed, in court, that no deaths were caused due to the lack of oxygen during the pandemic.[9]