Claiming India from below : activism and democratic transformation

Going beyond electoral politics and government, this volume broadens the scope of the functioning of democracy in India, and explores citizens’ role in the implementation of public policy. It looks at the ways in which extra-parliamentary power monitoring devices such as public institutions, citizens’ associations or assemblies, and the mainstream and emerging forms of the media, permeate through the political order. The volume:

• brings participation and communication in governance and policy making to the centrestage;

• examines case studies of state and citizen engagement from across India; and

• presents perspectives of practitioners, activists and scholars to provide a comprehensive view of the debates surrounding the idea of Indian democracy.

This book will be useful to scholars and researchers in politics, political science, media studies, public administration, sociology and social anthropology, as well as the interested general reader.