State and politics in India / edited by Partha Chatterjee

This timely book, the first in the themes in politics series, brings together landmark essays which collectively present an overall view of Indian politics as it stands - complex, vibrant, dynamic - fifty years after Independence. It scrutinizes India's major political
institutions, and analyses processes of domination and resistance that play a central role in Indian politics. Some readings present a view of the development of the party system, the electoral system, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, the federal system and the planning process through the Nehru and Indira Gandhi periods. Others give a sense of the institutional 'crisis' since the late 1980s, and examine current possibilities of institutional change. Some other essays aimed at understanding India's political dynamics examine the state as a site for contestation of power and look at the recent social movements which contend with the general structure of political institutions. This selection of significant writings which aid in exploring the uncertainties facing Indian politics today, will be invaluable for college and university students and also for journalists and the interested general reader.