Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
This book explores various aspects and processes of the twentieth-century Indian state, from the central, Union government down to grassroot-level in the provinces and villages.
Modern India is emerging as a global power within which the Indian state plays a critical role in delivering economic development and maintaining the integrity and unity of society. By drawing upon informed essays from scholars and researchers engaged in the field, this volume provides critical, empirical and conceptual insights into state-society relationships over issues as diverse as cable TV networks, urban planning, garbage collection, economic liberalization, coalition politics, provincial political rhetoric, individual rights and political participation and the management of village and municipal councils. In an era dominated by news of state failures in many Asian and African countries, the political institutions of the Indian state present an unusual combination of flexibility and stability. Within a democratic system, they enable the state to absorb and respond to popular pressures while winning public support for radical solutions to pressing social problems. Stretching from the centre down to the village, these institutions form a labyrinthine structure, occasionally harmonious but often the arena of intense economic, social and political conflict, the outcome of which will prove vital for India’s hopes of future growth and development. This book will be an invaluable reading for students across the disciplines of history, sociology, politics and government, as well as to development practitioners, policy makers, and readers keen to learn more about recent innovations in the theory and practice of governance in India.
Crispin Bates is Senior Lecturer in Modern South Asian History in the School of History & Classics at the University of Edinburgh and Director of Edinburgh University's Centre for South Asian studies.
Subho Basu is presently an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University, where he teaches Indian History in general and nationalist politics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in particular.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front Matter\r | i | ||
| Half Title\r | i | ||
| Series Page\r | ii | ||
| Title\r | iii | ||
| Copyright\r | iv | ||
| Contents\r | v | ||
| Contributors\r | vii | ||
| Introduction, by Subho Basu and Crispin Bates\r | xi | ||
| Main Body\r | 1 | ||
| Chapter 1. Stages in the Success and Failure of Economic Reform in India: A Review of the Literature, by Jos Mooji\r | 1 | ||
| 1.1 Introduction\r | 1 | ||
| 1.2 The Failed Reform Process in the 1980s\r | 3 | ||
| 1.3 Economic Reform After 1991\r | 5 | ||
| 1.4 Society-centred Explanations | 13 | ||
| 1.5 By Way of Conclusion - Reforms and India's Political Institutions\r | 17 | ||
| Chapter 2. The Temptations of Presidentialism: An Explanation of the Evolving Political Strategy of the BJP, by Sanjay Ruparelia\r | 21 | ||
| 2.1 The Origins of Secular Politics in Post-colonial India: The Early Decades\r | 23 | ||
| 2.2 The Decline of Secular Politics in the 1980s: Political Folly and Ideological Conflict\r | 26 | ||
| 2.3 A Temporary Reprieve from 'Hindutva': The Compulsions of Coalition Politics \r | 27 | ||
| 2.4 Alternative Strategies of Political Rule: Inherent Tensions within the Sangh Parivar\r | 31 | ||
| Chapter 3. Ideological Integration in Post-Colonial (South) India: Aspects of a Political Language, by Pamela Price\r | 39 | ||
| 3.1 Introduction\r | 39 | ||
| 3.2 Honour and Caste\r | 41 | ||
| 3.3 Respect in the Discourse of Politicians\r | 43 | ||
| 3.4 Learning Respect in Everyday Practice\r | 53 | ||
| 3.5 Domain Building and Politicians \r | 55 | ||
| 3.6 The King Conundrum in Post-Colonial Politics\r | 57 | ||
| 3.7 Conclusion\r | 62 | ||
| Chapter 4. The Fight for Turf and the Crisis of Ideology: Broadcasting Reform and Contempary Media Distribution in India, by Veena Naregal\r | 63 | ||
| 4.1 Informal Networks and Popular Culture\r | 65 | ||
| 4.2 Media Reforms in the 1990s\r | 67 | ||
| 4.3 Corporate Lobbies and Media Reform\r | 69 | ||
| 4.4 The Emerging Distribution Scenario: Audiences, Informal Networks and Consolidation\r | 71 | ||
| 4.5 The Changing of Cable TV in Bombay\r | 74 | ||
| 4.6 MSO Strategies and Cable Operators\r | 76 | ||
| 4.7 MSO-Franchisee Tensions: Upheavals Over Pay-TV\r | 78 | ||
| 4.8 New Media Networks and the Limits of Civility\r | 80 | ||
| 4.9 Conclusion\r | 82 | ||
| Chapter 5. The Political Economy of Urban Planning, The Case Study of Bombay, by Bhavana Padiyath\r | 83 | ||
| 5.1 Urban Development Planning: The Indian Context\r | 83 | ||
| 5.2 The Indian State and the Role of Planning\r | 84 | ||
| 5.3 Bombay: Land, Population and Housing\r | 85 | ||
| 5.4 Conclusion\r | 106 | ||
| Chapter 6. Understanding Local Politics, Democracy and Civil Society: Environmental Governance in Urban India, by Bharat Dahiya\r | 107 | ||
| 6.1 Democracy, Governance and Environmental Management: The Indian Urban Context\r | 108 | ||
| 6.2 Revamping of Urban Local Governments\r | 110 | ||
| 6.3 Representative Democracy in Urban India\r | 111 | ||
| 6.4 The Rise of Civil Society Organisations and Causal Factors\r | 115 | ||
| 6.5 Governance of the Urban Environment\r | 118 | ||
| 6.6 Conclusion\r | 123 | ||
| Chapter 7. Political Institutions, Strategies of Governance and Forms of Resistance in Rural Market Towns of Contemporary Bengal: A Study of Bolpur Municipality, by Subho Basu\r | 125 | ||
| 7.1 Introduction\r | 125 | ||
| 7.2 Improved Communication, Agricultural Growth and Urbanisation in Rural Bengal: The Making of an Agricultural Market Town 1860-2000\r | 127 | ||
| 7.3 The Indian State at Local Level and the Political Culture of Development\r | 132 | ||
| 7.4 Social Stratification and Class Configuration in an Agricultural Market Town\r | 136 | ||
| 7.5 The Transformation in the Polity Under the Left Regime: Centralised Decentralisation and Orchestrated Democratisation \r | 143 | ||
| 7.6 Conclusion\r | 149 | ||
| Chapter 8. Action, Autonomy and Political Rights: Towards a Theory of 'Political Literacy', by Sumi Madhok\r | 151 | ||
| 8.1 Moral Autonomy and the Individual\r | 152 | ||
| 8.2 Political Rights and 'Recognition Respect'\r | 154 | ||
| 8.3 Sathins and the Discourse of Rights\r | 155 | ||
| 8.4 The Evocation of Rights - Case Studies\r | 157 | ||
| 8.5 Sathins and Election Problematics\r | 161 | ||
| 8.6 Political Literacy and the Sathins\r | 162 | ||
| 8.7 Conclusion\r | 166 | ||
| Chapter 9. The Development of Panchayati Raj in India, by Crispin Bates\r | 169 | ||
| 9.1 Introduction\r | 169 | ||
| 9.2 The Resuscitation and Revival of Panchayati Raj\r | 177 | ||
| Chapter 10. Political Representation and Women's Empowerment: Women in the Institutions of Local Self-Governement in Orissa, Evelin Hust\r | 185 | ||
| 10.1 Introduction\r | 185 | ||
| 10.2 The Background to the 73rd Amendment\r | 186 | ||
| 10.3 Political Representation and Women's Empowerment\r | 190 | ||
| 10.4 The Case Study\r | 192 | ||
| 10.5 Conclusion\r | 208 | ||
| End Matter\r | 211 | ||
| Notes\r | 211 | ||
| Notes: Introduction\r | 211 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 1\r | 212 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 2\r | 214 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 3\r | 216 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 4\r | 218 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 5\r | 222 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 6\r | 225 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 7\r | 227 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 8\r | 229 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 9\r | 236 | ||
| Notes: Chapter 10\r | 238 | ||
| Bibliography\r | 241 | ||
| Glossary of Non-English Terms\r | 255 | ||
| Index\r | 259 |