Their new graphic book, The Discovery of New* India (Conditions Apply) is out. A joy to read, despite being about extremely grim developments that define ‘new’ India, authors Aakar Patel and PenPencilDraw have drawn not just conclusions but a sharp picture with the Constitution as the centre-piece of the many stories about Indian society, politics and the judicial system that circumscribe the lives of individuals. The book looks at 2026 India and how we got here through the eyes of two 15-year olds. Aakar’s two dogs are also part-narrators.Discovery of New* India (Conditions Apply), Aakar Patel, PenPencilDraw, Penguin, 2026.Seema Chishti read the graphic book and wrote to its two authors with a few questions. Their conversation is below. Why do conditions apply in the title of your book, Aakar and PenPencilDraw? Aakar Patel (AP): The asterisk in ‘New* India’ is to make buyers aware that the product being marketed to them as New India was not the one being sold. The aspirational and developmental elements initially associated with the term have fallen by the wayside or been kicked to 2047. Only the ideological project remains. PenPencilDraw (PPD): Because most votaries of New India don’t read the offer documents carefully. You are not only an illustrator, PenPencilDraw, your illustrations have words, punch and a story to tell on their own. So how did you and Aakar collaborate? How did the day to day writing of the draft proceed?PPD: The script came first: I wrote the issue-related sub-chapters, Aakar wrote the story that ties everything together. We would give each other feedback on our drafts, I would then draw some pages, we would go over them, and when the storyboards were more or less settled, I’d draw and ink and colour the lot. The bit that took the most time to figure out was the ending.The book looks at the threats to the Free India proposition and the shrinking of our constitutional values through the eyes of a 15-year-old Adi visiting India for the first time and 15-year-old Seema (ahem, felt very good about having the same name), who is the first school-goer in the family. With teenagers being the bane of the Modi government – Republic of Uncles, as The Economist recently characterised India – are you particularly happy you chose these young protagonists? Two pages of Discovery of New* India (Conditions Apply), by Aakar Patel and PenPencilDraw.AP: One reason was for choosing schoolchildren of an almost-adult age is that all of us are going through a relearning of what this country has become and what it could be about.PPD: The book seems to have been received particularly well by younger people. They weren’t our primary intended audience, so it’s encouraging to see them respond as they have.The sections about the bovine slaughter laws are so informative, Aakar, that map! Whose idea was it, PenPencilDraw?PPD: Aakar had written about the wide diversity of bovine slaughter laws in a previous book, and I thought it would be fun to depict them visually. Many people who’ve seen the map complain about it being too confusing, but that’s the point. Why is the UP chief minister, Adityanath, bristling at Muslims saying cow slaughter should be banned nationally and is declared a national animal, Aakar? We expected him to welcome this.AP: The text of Article 48, the advice on banning cattle slaughter, leans on economic and scientific arguments rather than the actual intent, which was religious. Muslims representatives in the constituent assembly in November 1948 asked that the principle be introduced honestly, as one Hindus wanted because of their beliefs. This did not happen and subsequent and particularly recent events show the hypocrisy of that position. Today it appears that the laws emanating from Article 48 exist purely for persecution and Muslim voices have exposed this. The issues you pick up, deal with the ‘system’, such as legal processes – with the (impossible to get) bail for the BK -16 (Elgar-Parishad accused) and how some of them had to pay for it with their lives. But you also reflect on Indian society. Which of the two gives you sleepless nights – India’s political system or social aspects?AP: Both require to go through a process of first slowing then stopping and then reversing the damage of authoritarianism and majoritarianism. We are talking about many years. It is likely that the latter will take longer than the former.How do you see India getting out of here – spoiler alert, the Constitution is the hero of this story in some sense. But what is the way forward? “What is our next story” as Bagha (canine narrator) puts it?AP: We are in the post-interval phase of this movie now. The characters have all been fully revealed and only the climax and denouement are awaited. In my opinion it is yet unclear whether we are getting out of here whole and healthy. Would you consider a sequel on Cockroaches or is it too early to tell… or draw?PPD: We’ll have to wait and see. Hopefully these cockroaches can match the resilience of our insect cousins.