Description
Book SynopsisWhat happened to the dream of Indian Democracy? With contributions from scholars, activists and public intellectuals, Nilsen explores the contradictions at the heart of Indian democracy more than seventy years after independence, investigating whether Narendra Modi's developmental authoritarianism can be reconciled with democratic rule.
Trade Review'Democracy in India has been a unique experiment. This book provides a sharp understanding of the complexities of contemporary Indian democracy. With their ears to the ground, the contributors have created an incisive volume on the subject' -- Ram Puniyani, author of 'Deconstructing Terrorist Violence' 'How do we understand the threats now facing Indian democracy? This valuable book provides nuanced insights into processes that explain its current travails: the Constitution's missing revolution; identity, discrimination and marginalisation; pressures on and within the media; structured and unstructured violence - and much more' -- Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University 'If we want to know what's wrong with our present, we must know what's wrong with our past. This book offers insight into both. A three-dimensional view of India' -- Shehla Rashid, Activist 'Indian democracy is a veritable riddle with its constitution promising the moon to people but its state denying them even the basic right to voice their miseries. The present saffron regime, its vilest product, has uncovered all of its smokescreens. This book will certainly provoke readers who still see nothing wrong with the system' -- Anand Teltumbde, author of 'Republic of Caste'
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Trajectories and Crossroads: Indian Democracy at 70 - Alf Gunvald Nilsen, Kenneth Bo Nielsen and Anand Vaidya 1. Democratic Origins i. India's Constitution and the Missing Revolution - Sandpito Dasgupta ii. The Minority Question in South Asia - Anupama Rao iii. Violence and/in the Making of Indian Democracy - Sunil Puroshotham iv. Comments - Ajay Skaria 2. The State and / of the Media in Modi's India - Siddharth Varadarajan 3. Writing Counter-insurgency, Conflict, and Democracy in India - Nandini Sundar and Dolly Kikon in conversation 4. Democratic Trajectories i. Congressism, Anti-Congressism, and the "People-as-a-Whole" - Subir Sinha ii. Merit and Caste in Contemporary India - Ajantha Subramanian iii. Ritual Inclusivity in Turbulent Times - Kathinka Froystad iv. Comments - Manali Desai 5. India's Democracy: Contest for the Nation's Core - Kavita Krishnan 6. Feminism and the Politics of Gender in Indian Democracy - Raka Ray and Srila Roy in conversation Conclusion: Indian Democracy and its Prospects: 2019 and Beyond - Alf Gunvald Nilsen, Kenneth Bo Nielsen and Anand Vaidya
