The Oxford Companion to Politics in India - Hardcover

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9780195669763: The Oxford Companion to Politics in India

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195669762 ISBN 13: 9780195669763

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2010

The Oxford Companion to Politics in India provides one of the most comprehensive and authoritative overview of Indian politics till date. Incorporating the best social science knowledge available on the developments in Indian politics, it provides a methodical exposition of how such issues are best understood. The contributors-top political scientists from across the world-interweave analytical perspectives with existing influential scholarship to provide a rich narrative of the subjects covered.

The volume has been thematically organized in seven parts. It begins with a survey of the basic institutional framework of politics like Indian Constitution, Parliament, federalism, local governance, and the Indian party system from 1952 to 2009. The essays also examine how non-political institutions like the Supreme Court of India and Election Commission have shaped Indian politics. They discuss social cleavages like class, caste, and gender as well as regional and religious diversities that create identities and mould politics in various ways. The companion further examines the political processes through political parties and their performance in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, political mobilization, alliances, and political leadership. Ideological contestations like nationalism, secularism, political representation, and social justice have also been explored in detail. Highlighting the linkages between social movements and civil society, a section looks into issues related with farmers' movements, women movements, and the role of NGOs in Indian politics. In addition, the volume investigates economic transformations in the country through an analysis of politics, political economy, government accountability, political economy as well as India's external and defence policies. It concludes with a discussion on various ways of looking at Indian politics.

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About the Author:

Niraja Gopal Jayal is Professor at the Center for the Study of Law and Governance at Jawaharlal Nehru University in India and is also Visiting Fellow at the Democracy and Development Program in the Center for Human Values and the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies at Princeton University.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta is President and Chief Executive at the Centre for Policy Research in India. He was former Visiting Professor of Government and Associate Professor of Government and of Social Studies at Harvard University. He als has held a visiting appointment at the University of Pennsylvania.

Review:

"A useful introduction to the study of Indian politics...this companion provides an understanding of the reasons behind the strength and longevity of democracy in India. It brings together essays authored by leading Indian and foreign scholars from diverse fields...Recommended for readers who are interested in understanding one of the emerging nations of the 21st century."--CHOICE

"This is a landmark publication. In forty sweeping essays some of the world's leading scholars describe, dissect and analyze the many layered polity that is India. At a time when every aspect of India is getting rapidly and intricately inter-women with the global, this book will be an invaluable guide to not just political scientists but also economists, sociologists and anybody interested in the strategic analysis of India's international relations and domestic policymaking."--Kaushik Basu, Ministry of Financy, Government of India and Cornell University

"This splendid collection shows that the study of Indian politics is essential for comparative politics and political theory. Jayal and Mehta have assembled a stunning group of authors, the best that can be imagined today, and have designed the volume in an impressively thoughtful way, covering institutions, political processes, social groups, and the politics of class, religion, gender, caste and region. Written with flair and fully accessible to non-experts, the essays should put the study of India where it belongs, in the forefront of political science."--Martha Nussbaum, The University of Chicago

"This companion really does justice to its subject, covering a range of issues from social cleavages at one end of the spectrum to the problems of applying quantitative techniques to the masses of raw data on Indian political life at the other. It is built on firm historical foundations and is extremely sophisticated about the ways in which India is and is not an 'exceptional' case among modern democracies. It will be immensely useful to readers both within India and beyond."--Alan Ryan, University of Oxford

"This companion will undoubtedly become indispensable to academic research on Indian politics as well as compulsory reading on university courses. It will also be an invaluable introductory resource for the study of comparative international politics, with India now a subject of scholarly enquiry as successful democracy, admidst persistent inequality and social and cultural diversity. With growing interest in India as a global power in the 21st century, the book will be of relevance to a world-wide audience of lay readers, policy makers and economic analysts, seeking to understand the complexities of Indian politics."--Nandini Gooptu, University of Oxford

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