1st Edition
Indian Politics and Political Processes Ideas, Institutions and Practices
Indian Politics and Political Processes explores the key ideas, foundations, continuities, major shifts and challenges to the state and democracy in modern India. The book presents an in-depth analysis of recent issues and challenges confronting the Indian state and politics.
Presenting a comprehensive account of the major trajectories of Indian politics, this book introduces the readers to the existing literature and enables them to think critically about major issues and institutions of politics and democracy. The chapters engage critically with the historical antecedents, major debates, and recent developments. The book also elaborately deals with issues such as populism, religious movements, minority rights, health, and the environment, which are often ignored or side-lined in the available literature on Indian politics and political processes.
The book will be useful to the students, teachers and researchers pursuing courses in political science, South Asian Studies, and international/global politics and economics. It will also be an informative read for those interested in contemporary South Asian politics.
List of Figures x
List of Tables xi
Notes on Contributors xii
Acknowledgements xvii
List of Abbreviations xix
Introduction 1
MITHILESH KUMAR JHA AND KAMAL NAYAN CHOUBEY
SECTION I
Indian Constitution, State and Emerging Trends 33
1 Indian Constitution: Antecedents, Philosophy and Basic Features 35
OM PRAKASH
2 State, Society and the Nation 53
MOHINDER SINGH
3 Populism and the ‘Nirgun’ People 75
ADITYA NIGAM
4 Forms of Contemporary Religious Movements 95
MANINDRA NATH THAKUR
5 Regulating the Electoral Domain: The Election Commission of India 115
UJJWAL KUMAR SINGH AND ANUPAMA ROY
SECTION II
Political Processes I: Changing Dynamics of Institutions and Political Parties 129
6 Indian Judiciary: Changing Role and Dynamics of the Supreme Court of India 131
INDRAJEET KUMAR JHA
7 Indian Parliament: Changing Contours and Challenging Future 156
MEENAKSHI GOGOI AND MITHILESH KUMAR JHA
8 Federal Polity in the Multiparty Coalition Era and Beyond 174
HEMANT DOGRA AND MITHILESH KUMAR JHA
9 Policy Paths to Welfare and Citizen Well-Being: A Rights-Based Perspective 197
HIMANSHU JHA
10 Elections and Voting Behaviour: Historical Antecedents and Contemporary Trends 221
SUMIT KUMAR SARMA AND MITHILESH KUMAR JHA
11 The Congress Party and the Indian Party System 237
RAJESH KUMAR
12 Bharatiya Janata Party: Electoral Dominance or Ideological Hegemony? 259
MITHILESH KUMAR JHA
SECTION III
Political Processes II: Contested Determinants of Indian Politics 275
13 Changing Dynamics of Caste and Politics in India 277
SATAKSHI MALVIYA AND SHAMIK VATSA
14 The Middle Class in India: Politics, Economy and Culture 296
ASHUTOSH KUMAR
15 Understanding Tribal India: Constitutional Rights, Issues and Challenges 318
KAMAL NAYAN CHOUBEY
16 Gender and Indian Politics 342
RASHMI GOPI
17 Secularism in India: Theories, Practices and Controversies 364
ANURAG PANDEY
18 Local Self-Government: Panchayats and Municipalities 387
SMITA AGARWAL
SECTION IV
Political Processes III: Site of Concerns and Challenges to Indian Democracy 407
19 The Idea of Minority: An Indian Story 409
HILAL AHMED
20 Politics of Ethnonationalism and Multi-Level Governance in India 436
PAHI SAIKIA
21 Discourse on the Environment and Development in India 463
MEENAKSHI GOGOI
22 The Politics of the Public Health System in India 480
SKYLAB SAHU
Index
Biography
Mithilesh Kumar Jha teaches political science at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. He earned his PhD in 2014 from the University of Delhi. Dr. Jha’s research interests are political thought, theory, and Indian politics. His noted publication is Language Politics and Public Sphere in North India: Making of the Maithili Movement (2018). His articles and review articles have appeared in journals like EPW, Studies in Indian Politics, Contributions to Indian Sociology, Seminar, The Book Review, and LSE Review of Books. He has been a recipient of the Charles Wallace Fellowship and ICSSR Fellowship for data collection abroad for his research in 2012.
Kamal Nayan Choubey teaches political science at Dyal Singh College of Delhi University. He has completed his PhD from the Department of Political Science, Delhi University. He is the author of the book, Jaatiyon ka Rajneetikaran: Bihar Mein Pichhdi Jatiyon ke Ubhar ki Dastan (2008); Jungle Ki Haqdari: Rajneeti aur Sangharsh (2015); he has co-edited Bhartiya Neetiyon Ka Samajik Paksh (2017) and Bhartiya Gram Shrikhna (3 volume, 2019). He has edited two volumes of Dalit Gyan Mimansa (2022). He also did a Post-Doctorate from Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML, Delhi) on the experience of PESA and FRA (2012–2014). He has completed a Major Research Project with Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) Delhi on the role of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in tribal areas. He is a member of the editorial team of the reputed journal Pratiman (published by CSDS, Delhi) and published articles in journals like Economic and Political Weekly, Studies in Indian Politics, Social Change. He has translated many well-known academic books from English to Hindi, including Will Kymilika’s Contemporary Political Philosophy and John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice.
