Politics in India ─ Structure, Process and Policy

This new edition of this textbook brings together general political theory and the comparative method to interpret socio-political phenomena and issues that have occupied the Indian state and society since 1947. It is an examination of the interaction of the modern state and traditional society in contemporary India and analyses the dilemmas arising out of India’s complex and diverse political process. It shows how modern institutions, strategic reform and policy processes aimed at social change have been installed in the country to make democracy a lasting success. The resilience of India’s modern institutions and the stability of India’s democratic political system are both the outcome of a modernising leadership with deep roots in the traditional society functioning as a innovative and flexible bridge between state and society.

The textbook goes beyond India by asking about the implications of the Indian case for the general and comparative theory of the post-colonial state. The factors which might have caused failures in democracy and governance are analysed to be incorporated as variables into a model of democratic governance. That is how this book moves from an analysis of structure and process of politics at the level of the nation, region and locality towards the formulation of policy.

This updated new edition considers the changed global role of India, its standing in the G-20 and BRICS, as well as the implications of the Indian general elections 2014 for state and society. New sections on the changing socio-political status of women in India, corruption and terrorism are also included.

In addition to pedagogical features such as text boxes, a set of further readings is provided to guide readers who wish to go beyond the remit of this text. The book will be essential reading for of students and researchers in South Asian and Asian studies, political science, development studies, sociology, comparative politics and political theory.

Subrata K. Mitra is Professor of Political Science at the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, Germany, and a Research Associate in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS, University of London, UK. His publications includeThe Puzzle of India’s Governance (2005), (co-author) A Political and Economic Dictionary of South Asia(2006), Modern Politics of South Asia (5 volumes, 2008) and Power, Protest and Participation (1992), all published by Routledge. He is the series editor of theRoutledge Advances in South Asian Studies series.