Fractured Tales ─ Invisibles in Indian Democracy

This book focuses on the voiceless and invisible Dalit castes who have been left out in the 60 years of state-led Indian democracy. This work aims to give voice to the most marginalized among the Dalit population who fall outside the purview of the discourse of democracy. It focuses on the process of ongoing inclusion of Dalits in the democratic sphere and will try to understand the dialectics of contradiction involved in the democratic processes in post-colonial India. It will document, the process of inclusion of assertive marginalized castes into governance and politics while excluding the smaller and non-assertive Dalit communities. The work discusses how the process of democratization of Dalit communities over-represents some groups and overlooks others. These invisible communities among Dalits, the work claims, are not able to demonstrate their politics of presence in the ever-evolving democracy of Uttar Pradesh. The work will then investigate the elements and factors that constitute visibility of the marginalized in democratic politics.

Badri Narayan, Professor, Centre for the study of Discrimination and Exclusion, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Badri Narayan is Professor, Centre for the study of Discrimination and Exclusion, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi