The book under review, divided into four sections and twenty-two chapters, touches upon almost every segment of Indian politics and the political from institutions to processes, movements to multilevel governance, grounding of democracy to the challenges before it in the Indian setting. All the chapters present key ideas and terms in a sidebar box.
The introductory chapter by the editors discusses academic debates on the evolving nature of the Indian state which presently reflects growing tensions between the state facilitating industrial growth and development, and resistance at the societal level. Further, it provides a brief overview of the chapters included in the volume.
The first section on the Indian Constitution, State and Emerging Trends comprises five chapters reflecting on the philosophy of the Constitution. In ‘Indian Constitution: Antecedents, Philosophy and Basic Features’, Om Prakash points out the antecedents and functions of the Constitution, the evolution of the Constitutional framework from the colonial period, the formation of the Constituent Assembly and the Debates thereafter, especially focusing on the nature of the Preamble embodying a spirit of ‘transformative role of the state in overcoming socio-economic barriers that prevent millions… from exercising their rights and liberties’ (p. 51).
‘State, Society and the Nation’ by Mohinder Singh presents an anthropological study of the interaction of state, society and political economy from the prism of governmentality. The chapter further highlights the historical background of the relationship of the Indian state in relation to caste, religious communities and the nation. The chapter concludes by pointing out that the construction of the Ram temple, abrogation of Article 370, and impending legislation of the Uniform Civil Code has ‘challenged the secular pluralist framework of the Constitution with its own majoritarian agenda particularly since 2014’ (p. 73). Aditya Nigam’s ‘Populism and the “Nirgun” People’ is a theoretically engaging piece that cautions against understanding Indian politics ‘purely in terms of the masses and the popular as they occur in modern politics in the West’ (p. 80). Stressing that no theorization of populism has ever taken any movement as its reference point, the author categorizes the Aam Aadmi Party as a ‘national-popular’ movement with Nirgun (emancipatory potential) characteristic that operates when ‘crisis of hegemony opens up the space for posing fresh challenges to the dominant order’ (p. 92).
Manindra Nath Thakur’s ‘Forms of Contemporary Religious Movements’ frames an insightful interconnection between religion, spirituality and political economy by distinguishing between three types of religious movements: fundamentalist, new and radical, and reflecting their practice in Indian society which have nuanced differences and implications for religion, capitalism and democracy (p. 112). The last chapter of this section, on ‘Regulating the Electoral Domain: The Election Commission of India’ by Ujjwal Kumar Singh and Anupama Roy is a commentary on the legality, functionality and awareness-generative role of the Election Commission of India. The chapter also highlights new issues like electoral finance, stringent implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, and putting in place constitutional procedures of appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners ‘which would go a long way in placing ECI beyond suspicion’ (p. 125).
The next section on Changing Dynamics of Institutions and Political Parties begins with a chapter by Indrajeet Kumar Jha, ‘Indian Judiciary: Changing Role and Dynamics of the Supreme Court of India’, and focuses on the composition, function, autonomy and role of the Supreme Court of India. The author details the evolution of judicial review and judicial activism within the context of the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution and Public Interest Litigation. Admitting that in recent years the Supreme Court has been in crisis as many questions have been raised about its verdicts, the author maintains that on the whole, the Indian judiciary ‘has been able to perform its role successfully and responsibly’(p. 154). Meenakshi Gogoi and Mithilesh Kumar Jha in ‘Indian Parliament: Changing Contours and Challenging Future’ argue that the ‘Parliament of India has withstood various trials and tribulations of India’s turbulent democracy’ (p. 156) by focusing on the history of making of Indian Parliament and its changing roles and dynamics. The chapter ends by highlighting post-2014 changes and challenges facing the Indian Parliament due to executive dominance and records that as per the Constitution, the Parliament must function as an institution which holds the government accountable.
Hemant Dogra and Mithilesh Kumar Jha in their chapter on ‘Federal Polity in the Multiparty Coalition Era and Beyond’ trace the antecedents of the Indian model of federalism before and after the coalition era, leading to contemporary debates of re-centralization of Indian federalism since 2014. Accepting the proposition that Indian federalism is becoming a model of national federalism with the idea of oneness reflected through the practice of GST, the NITI Aayog, and Team India for national governance agenda, the authors conclude that ‘intergovernmental institutions can be an important institutional innovation that facilitate multilevel and cooperative federalism’ (p. 194).
Next in the section comes the chapter ‘Policy Paths to Welfare and Citizen in Well-Being’ by Himanshu Jha, which narrates the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the imbalance between rapid economic growth and socio-human development. Lack of balancing by the state triggers a burgeoning rights framework for institutional change to strengthen social citizenship and welfare regime.
Sumit Kumar Sarma and Mithilesh Kumar Jha on ‘Elections and Voting Behaviour: Historical Antecedents and Contemporary Trends’ describe the history of election studies and voting behaviour analysis in India post 1990. They claim that the ‘coming together of a plethora of Hindu castes and communities under the political banner of BJP forces us to rethink existing theories of caste-class cleavages’ used to explain Indian electoral politics (p. 235). The next two chapters by Rajesh Kumar and Mithilesh Kumar Jha focus on the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party respectively with a detailed discussion of their past trajectory and present position in the Indian political space. The former talks about the necessity to change the character of the Congress party leadership (p. 256), while the latter concludes that the BJP’s latest electoral success is based on perception, promise and aspirations of the middle class (p. 272).
The next section on Contested Determinants of Indian Politics has six chapters on caste, the middle class, tribes, gender, secularism and local self-government. Satakshi Malviya and Shamik Vatsa in the context of the politicization of caste interrogate its post-2014 convergence with Hindutva politics and conclude that the need to have a caste census, forming a third Backward Caste Commission, and ensuring caste accommodation in the private sector are pressing issues (p. 294). Ashutosh Kumar’s writing on ‘The Middle Class in India: Politics, Economy and Culture’ measures the Indian middle class from the vantage point of ideological shift of culture, politics and economics and argues that it is a heterogeneous bloc which influences the way politics and economy have taken shape in contemporary India (p. 311). Kamal Nayan Choubey in his chapter on ‘Understanding Tribal India: Constitutional Rights, Issues and Challenges’ provides a historical background of tribal politics in India, highlighting relevant literature before analysing the key provisions and practical experiences of the Fifth and Sixth Schedules with special reference to PESA and the Forest Rights Act. Clearly listing the multifaceted challenges faced by tribal communities over the years, alongside developmental initiatives, the chapter concludes that under the BJP government, attempts are made to weaken the laws protecting tribal communities and that there is an urgent need to create a more decentralized structure for the welfare and development of tribal communities (p. 339).
‘Gender and Indian Politics’ by Rashmi Gopi narrates the history of the gender question in India with special emphasis on post-1991 gender discourses and the latest issues of surrogacy, inheritance rights through the Uniform Civil Code, the struggle to survive while demanding rights and justice creating a Third-world female subject, transgender rights that question ‘honour-based hierarchies constructed in gender’ discourses in contemporary India (p. 362). Anurag Pandey in his chapter on ‘Secularism in India: Theories, Practices and Controversies’ brings in the viewpoints on makers of the Constitution and that of contemporary politicians on the issue referring particularly to the Indian National Congress, Muslim political elites and Hindu nationalists. Elaborating established critical literature on Indian secularism, the author focuses on Rajeev Bhargava’s idea of contextual secularism and Amartya Sen’s idea of multicultural India. The final chapter in this section by Smita Agarwal on ‘Local Self Government: Panchayats and Municipalities’ summarizes its history, the wavy trajectory till 1990, the mandate it got from the 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, the lingering issues in its actual working, and finally, the progress seen in this domain post 2014 of the 29 subjects of the Eleventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution to PRIs. However, greater devolution of financial autonomy is the need of the hour.
The final section on the Site of Concerns and Challenges to Indian Democracy in political processes of India begins with an essay by Hilal Ahmed on ‘The Idea of Minority: An Indian Story’. It touches upon the undefined nature of the minority question, attempts at refining minorities and address the extensive legal debate on minority status and the formal and informal nature of minority representation. The author ends the chapter by highlighting that political trajectories of minorities in postcolonial India balance between their formal and informal lived experiences. Pahi Saikia’s ‘Politics of Ethnonationalism and Multi-level Governance in India’ argues that varying state responses in multi-level governance and institutions instead of preventing sub-regional tensions, polarized groups and added to disparities and power asymmetries (p. 437). Detailing the theoretical concerns, conditions, causes and dynamics of ethno-nationalist mobilization with a brief history of state building and sub-national separatist movements elaborating with the case of Northeast India, the author concludes that goals of mobilization broaden the perspective on the ramifications of ethnic conflict on inter-group, state-society and majority-minority relationship (p. 461). In ‘Discourse on the Environment and Development in India’, Meenakshi Gogoi highlights the link between the Indian Constitution and the role of the Judiciary in environmental issues wherein the shifts in post-1990 and post-2014 environmental laws are meant primarily to boost development maintaining a balance with environmental goals. The penultimate chapter of this section and the book is written by Skylab Sahu on ‘The Politics of Public Health System in India’ focusing on the public and private sector conundrum on blended healthcare system in India. Arguing that regional health inequalities are mainly a result of differences in the level of economic development, the chapter ends by claiming that right to health needs to be included within the paradigm of Fundamental Rights.
Tighter editorial control may have prevented some errors. Most of the chapters focus on the evolutionary aspects of Indian politics instead of the recent shifts in the nature of the ‘political’ in the post-2014 period. Apart from minor errors, one glaring mistake by the editors is in their opening acknowledgement section; they mention that some of the chapters were reproduced with permission and necessary updation, but except for Hilal Ahmed’s chapter nowhere is the original source mentioned.
Nevertheless, the edited book is a magnum opus on Indian politics and political processes spanning more than 500 pages, and can be a stepping-stone for future analysis of Indian politics.
Pratip Chattopadhyay is Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal.