James Manor is a prolific writer with a wide range of interests in the social sciences. His research work in India varies from democracy, the majoritarian state, Hindu nationalism, caste dynamics, state and society power relations, decentralization, employment opportunities, and higher education. It is therefore fitting that the 12 essays in this collection are equally wide-ranging, in terms of the subjects covered.
A couple of essays by Christophe Jaffrelot and Zoya Hasan concentrate on recent national politics. Jaffrelot focuses on the rise of authoritarianism in the Indian polity under the ‘sultanism’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Zoya Hasan describes the rise and fall of the UPA Government from 2004 to 2014. While UPA-I, with the support of the Left Parties, managed to enact progressive legislations like NREGA (2005), Right to Information Act (2005) and Forest Rights Act (2006), UPA-II faced difficulties implementing developmental measures efficiently and with accountability, following the withdrawal of the Left from the Government.
Niraja Gopal Jayal describes the democratic backsliding in India with ascribed labels like liberal democracy, electoral democracy, and presently, electoral autocracy. While our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, believed in liberal democracy in the political arena and socialism in the economic realm, Prime Minister Modi seems to have inverted the formula by espousing illiberal democracy and economic liberalism. However, Jaffrelot believes that the Modi government is not even committed to economic liberalism, but to a dirigiste economic framework and crony capitalism.
The question is: Can Indian democracy survive the series of assaults on it, from Indira Gandhi’s Emergency in the mid-70s to the present decade, when such assaults have been exacerbated? According to Diego Maiorano, Manor’s optimism about the regenerative qualities of Indian democracy in the post-Emergency period is somewhat misplaced in today’s context. Maiorano sees the cumulative damage inflicted on Indian democracy as leaving permanent scars on its institutions.
At least two authors in this volume highlight the tensions between social justice and caste. Surinder Jodhka, who has collaborated with Manor, examines the contrasting lens with which different leaders have considered caste in their autobiographies, depending on their location in the caste hierarchy. In different ways, MK Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru looked at caste in a perfunctory way and as an abstract category outside of their lived experience. Caste mattered more to lower-caste leaders like Charan Singh and Lalu Prasad Yadav, while caste was the principal focus of Dalit leaders like BR Ambedkar, who called for its annihilation, and Kanshi Ram, who sought to capture state power by means of representational politics.
Suhas Palshikar, for his part, discusses the demand for economic benefits in the form of OBC reservation by Marathas in Maharashtra, by Patels in Gujarat, and Jats in Haryana. While the Jats have been successful in getting OBC reservation, the Marathas have been partially successful, with only Kunbi or agricultural Marathas from Marathwada district getting OBC reservation. Patels, though, have failed in their attempt to get reservation. The paradox here is that these three caste groups have been politically dominant in their regions for several decades, even centuries, in the case of the Marathas. By getting OBC status, they tend to lose their regional status as dominant castes and become claimants for OBC status among an array of other non-dominant lower castes.
Manor’s optimism with respect to the resilience of Indian democracy is evident in Sanjay Kumar’s chapter, where the author presents data on the increased turnout of women and lower classes in the Lok Sabha, Assembly, and local elections, especially in the last decade. Sadly, there has also been a rise in the criminal records of candidates and in corrupt practices. Add to this a mix of misinformation and disinformation on social media, and the overall picture of Indian democracy looks not too sanguine.
Indians hold multiple identities, according to Manor, and this is amply illustrated in E Sridharan’s chapter on the political dynamics between State and national elections. Sridharan informs us that in the past decade and a half, national leadership in the form of the Prime Minister has infiltrated the decision-making process of voters in State elections.
Naresh Chandra Saxena turns his attention to panchayat and council elections. Saxena, following Manor, exudes both despair and hope in his essay on the implementation of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments passed in the early 1990s. The fact that reserved seats for women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes function on a rotational basis and shift to different localities in each election implies that there is little accountability regarding governance or honest dispensation of funds for development projects within the Panchayat system. Saxena’s remedies to check the ills of the system consist of improving Panchayat governance in schemes like MGNREGA, including local bodies like Self-Help Groups in decision-making, facilitating digital payments to avoid corruption, and better auditing of expenditure by the Panchayat.
Manor’s extended work in Karnataka State is reflected in a couple of chapters in this collection. Manisha Priyam’s engaging history of Mysore University, from its early halcyon days of affiliation with eminent teachers and students, like philosopher S Radhakrishnan, writer KV Puttappa (Kuvempu), the brilliant Dalit teacher Parvathamma, civil servant HY Sharada Prasad, writer RK Narayan, cartoonist RK Laxman, and literary figure, UR Ananthamurty. The later decline of the University began with political interference by the state, and caste and religious rivalries between different colleges.
The other narrative based in Karnataka is Narender Pani’s superb essay on Land Reform as a Source of Identity Politics. Pani, who has differences with Manor on the subject, analyses the unintended consequences of tenancy reform undertaken by the Congress Chief Minister Devaraj Urs in the 1970s, especially in coastal Karnataka, also known as Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. The former landlords—comprising Brahmins, Bunts, and Muslims—who were forced out of agriculture, found lucrative outlets in banking and trading. Nevertheless, the periods 1984 and 1996 saw the rise of BJP influence in the region and polarization of religious communities around the historical figure of Tipu Sultan. Occasionally, the target of Hindu nationalists also shifted to the substantial population of Christians in the region.
Another outstanding and complex analysis is evident in John Harriss’s discussion of the role of intermediaries—also known as fixers or brokers—in Indian politics. These fixers are generally men from non-dominant castes who act as intermediaries between those at the grassroots level and politicians. Harriss disagrees with Manor’s assessment of fixers playing an ambiguous, but ultimately democratic, role. Harriss has a more pragmatic perception of fixers as political cadre (often with the ruling party), who get things done in what he calls a ‘brokered democracy’. Such a phenomenon does not augur well for the health of any democracy.
These fine essays provide a fund of information and will be welcomed by academics as well as laypersons who seek in-depth stories about the socio-political and economic state of the Indian nation.
Nalini Rajan is with the Asian School of Journalism, Chennai.