Politics in India
This third edition of Politics in India provides a timely counter-narrative to pessimistic prognoses about the future of Indian democracy. It focuses on the resilience of India’s democratic political system and its strategic reorientation in response to electoral mandates emerging from the country’s vigorously competitive elections.
In a comprehensive analysis of the country's democratic processes, Mitra brings together political theory and historical perspective in order to provide a comparative analysis and interpretation of issues that have occupied the Indian state since Independence from British colonial rule IN 1947. Based on rationality of the Indian voter and strategic acumen of the political leaders, this is the first comprehensive explanation of how India achieved a seamless transition from colonial rule to a robust and resilient democracy. Mitra explains how India has sought to balance development with social justice, Consent with Force, and pursue strategic autonomy in the global arena. As a result, the book demonstrates that despite the periodic breakdown of democratic governance, the political process consistently restores the dynamic equilibrium of the system. The chapters, cross-referenced, can be read both as stand-alone essays on specific themes, as well as parts of a single narrative.
Supplemented with tables, boxes, illustrations and comprehensive notes on further reading, the new edition will continue to be an essential reading for students and researchers in Indian and South Asian Studies, introduction to political science and world politics, development studies, sociology, comparative politics and political theory. General readers interested IN how the world’s most populous democracy functions on a day-to-day basis may find the volume a useful introduction to Indian politics.
Subrata K. Mitra, Ph.D. was Head of the Department of Political Science at the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, Germany, (1994-2014). In course of his years in teaching, research and academic collaboration, he has applied his specialisation in rational choice theory and quantitative methods to a diversity of fields which include Indian and comparative politics; democratisation; the post-colonial state and social change; governance; elections and political parties; state-formation and sub-national movements; foreign policy; religion and art history; and transcultural studies. This diversity can be seen in the range of publications which include India: Statecraft and foreign policy (2024), The 2019 Parliamentary Elections in India: Democracy at Crossroads? (2022), Governance by Stealth: The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Making of the Indian State (2021); Kautilya’s Arthashastra: An Intellectual Biography – the Classical Roots of Modern Politics in India (2017); Citizenship and the Flow of Ideas (2012); Re-use: The Art and Politics of Integration and Anxiety (2012); When Rebels become Stakeholders (2009) and the Puzzle of India’s Governance (2005).