The Politics of Modern India Since Independence

The textbook offers a detailed, jargon-free, chronological survey of Indian political history from 1947 up to the present. It treats political structures as historically determined, induced by economic transformation, state interventions, popular movements and discourses emanating from and reshaping popular discourses. Included are a detailed index, sub-headings, maps and illustrations, as well as a time-line of the events in India's political history since independence. These pedagogical features, as well as text boxes to explain institutions, issues and ideas, and a detailed bibliography will aid student readers navigating the book and assist further study.

Crispin Bates is Reader in the School of History, Classics & Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, where he teaches modern South Asian history from 1750 to the present day. He is also Director of Edinburgh University’s Centre for South Asian studies, a member of the UK Arts and Humanities Council Research Panel for modern history and the series editor of the Routledge/Edinburgh South Asian Studies series. His recent publications include Subalterns and the Raj, also published by Routledge (2007).

Subho Basu is a Professor at the Department of History, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, US. He has published widely in labor history and contemporary history of Indian politics and is currently completing a book on communist politics in Bengal.