Kill the Indian First: What the World Called Us and What We Call Others

When you meet an Indian and a snake, kill the Indian first! What certificate should we show to prove that we are Indian?Two lines a few years apart—the first written by a diplomat to Jeffrey Epstein, and the second a cry of anguish from a young Indian—birthed this book. The first, a slur that travelled the world, hurts if you are an Indian. But the second cry hurts more, because it was born of a slur cast by an Indian on an Indian. How should young Indians think about language, dignity, and their own complicity in systems of contempt? Three things set this inquiry apart.First, it refuses the victimhood frame while acknowledging the injury. Each chapter asks not just “what was said” but “what economic and political structure made this possible”. Second, it is global in scope, connecting the Indian experience in South Africa, Southeast Asia, East Africa, Britain, the Caribbean, and America into one coherent narrative. Third, it is written for young Indians. India’s founding idea, imperfect as it may be, was genuinely radical—that a civilisation containing this much diversity could choose to be one country.m/p> The idea of India deserves its defenders.