Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-pn7tm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-15T07:30:50.043Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is India Becoming More Democratic?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2010

Ashutosh Varshney
Get access

Extract

A great deal of confusion exists on how to discuss, and theoretically characterize, political developments in India during the last decade and a half. There is, of course, a consensus that the Congress party, a towering political colossus between 1920 and 1989, has unambiguously declined. While there are legitimate doubts about whether the decline of the Congress party will continue to be irreversible, it is clear that much of the political space already vacated by the Congress has so far been filled by three different sets of political forces. The first force, Hindu nationalism, has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention (Basu 1997; Hansen and Jaffrelot 1998; Jaffrelot 1993; Varshney 1993). The second force, regionalism, has also spawned considerable research of late (Baruah 1999; Singh forthcoming; Subramanian 1999). A third force, not so extensively analyzed, covers an array of political parties and organizations that encompass groups normally classified under the umbrella category of “lower castes”: the so-called scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, and the “other backward classes” (OBCs). How should we understand the politics of parties representing these groups? How far will they go? What are the implications of their forward march, if it does take place, for Indian democracy?

Information

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 59 , Issue 1 , February 2000 , pp. 3 - 25
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

List of References

Ambedkar, B. R. 1990. Annihilation of Caste: An Undelivered Speech, Delhi: Arnold Publishers.Google Scholar
Sanjib, Baruah. 1999. India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Amrita., Basu 1997. “Hindu Nationalism and Indian Democracy.” Paper presented at the conference on “India at Fifty,” October 31-November 1, Princeton University.Google Scholar
Andre., Beteille 1996. Caste Today, Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jagdish., Bhagwati 1993. India in Transition, Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Marshall., Bouton 1985. Agrarian Radicalism in South India, Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Arthur, Bonner, et al. 1994. Democracy in India: A Hollow Shell, Washington, D.C.: American University Press.Google Scholar
Paul., Brass 1990. The Politics of India Since Independence, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Chaddha, G. K. 1986. The State and Rural Economic Transformation: A Study of Punjab, New Delhi: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Robert., Dahl 1971. Polyarchy, New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Robert., Dahl. 1981. The Dilemmas of Pluralist Democracies, New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Robert., Dahl. 1989. Democracy and its Critics, New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Robert., Dahl. 1998. On Democracy, New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Nicholas., Dirks 1987. The Hollow Crown, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Nicholas., Dirks 1997. “Recasting Tamil Society: The Politics of Caste and Race in Contemporary Southern India.” In Caste Today, edited by Fuller, C. J.. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jean, Dreze, and Sen, Amartya. 1995. India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity, Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA 1996 AND 1998. Statistical Report on General Elections, Volume 1. Delhi: Election Commission of India.Google Scholar
Francine., Frankel 1990. “Conclusion: Decline of a Social Order.” In Dominance and State Power in Modern India, edited by Frankel, Francine and Rao, M. S. A.. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jayshree., Gokhale 1990. “The Evolution of Counter-Ideology.” In Frankel and Rao, as above.Google Scholar
Antonio., Gramsci 1971. Prison Notebooks, New York: International Publishers.Google Scholar
Hansen, C., and Jaffrelot, Christophe, eds. 1998. The Compulsions of BJP Politics, Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Robert., Hardgrave 1965. TheDravidian Movement. Bombay: Popular Prakashan.Google Scholar
Robert., Hardgrave 1969. The Nadars of Tamilnad, Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Samuel., Huntington 1983. “Will More Countries Become Democratic?” Political Science Quarterly, Fall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Samuel., Huntington 1981. American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Christophe., Jaffrelot 1993. The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India, New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Ayesha., Jalal 1995. Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mary., Katzenstein 1979. Ethnicity and Equality, Ithaca, N.Y.: xypCornell University Press.Google Scholar
Atul., Kohli 1991. Democracy and Discontent, New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rajni, Kothari, ed. 1970. Caste in Indian Politics, Delhi: Allied Publications.Google Scholar
Jayant., Lele 1990. “Caste, Class and Dominance: Political Mobilization in Maharashtra.” In Dominance and State Power in Modern India, edited by Frankel, Francine and Rao, M. S. A.. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Rammanohar, Lohia. 1964. The Caste System, Hyderabad: Lohia Samta Vidyalaya Nyas.Google Scholar
MANDAL COMMISSION. 1980. Report of the Backward Classes Commission. Delhi: Government of India.Google Scholar
James., Manor 1990. “Karnataka.” In Dominance and State Power in Modern India, edited by Frankel, Francine and Rao, M. S. A.. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Oliver, Mendelsohn, and Vicziany, Marika. 1998. The Untouchables. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mosca, G. 1939. The Ruling Class, New York: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
Ashis., Nandy 1996. “Sustaining the Faith.” India Today, 31 August.Google Scholar
Tom., Nossiter 1982. Communism in Kerala, Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress.Google Scholar
Gail., Omvedt 1993. Reinventing Revolution, Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Gail., Omvedt 1994. Dalits and the Democratic Revolution, New Delhi: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Rajendran, G. 1974. The Ezhava Community and Kerala Politics, Trivandrum: Academy of Political Science.Google Scholar
Ram, Reddy, G. 1990. “The Politics of Accommodation: Caste, Class and Dominance in Andhra Pradesh.” In Dominance and State Power in Modern India, edited by Frankel, Francine and Rao, M. S. A.. Delhi: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Martin, Ravallion, and Datt, Gaurav. 1996. “India's Checkered History in Poverty Alleviation.” Economic and Political Weekly, September.Google Scholar
Lloyd, Rudolph, and Rudolph, Susanne. 1967. The Modernity of Tradition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lloyd, Rudolph, and Rudolph, Susanne.. 1987. In Pursuit ofLakshmi, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Sachchidananda, . 1990. “Patterns of Politico-Economic Change Among Tribals in Middle India.” In Dominance and State Power in Modern India, edited by Frankel, Francine and Rao, M. S. A.. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jeffrey, Sachs, Varshney, Ashutosh, and Bajpai, Nirupam, eds. 1999. Introduction to India in the Era of Economic Reform, Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Michael., Sandel 1996. Democracy's Discontent, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Ghanshyam., Shah 1990. “Caste Sentiments, Class Formation and Dominance in Gujarat.” In Dominance and State Power in Modern India, edited by Frankel, Francine and Rao, M. S. A.. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dhirubhai., Sheth 1996. “The Prospects and Pitfalls.” India Today, August 31.Google Scholar
Dhirubhai., Sheth 1999. “Changes in Social Stratification.” In India Briefing: Looking Back, Looking Ahead, edited by Bouton, Marshall and Oldenburg, Philip. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Gurharpal., Singh Forthcoming. Ethnic Conflict in India: A Case Study of Punjab. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Srinivas, M. N. 1966. Social Change in Modern India, Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Narenda., Subramanian 1999. Ethnicity and Populist Mobilization: Political Parties, Citizens and Democracy in South India, Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Charles., Taylor 1998. “Democracy and Exclusion,” Journal of Democracy, October.Google Scholar
Achin., Vanaik 1990. The Painful Transition: The Bourgeois Democracy of India, London: Verso Books.Google Scholar
Ashutosh., Varshney 1993. “Contested Meanings: Hindu Nationalism, India's National Identity, and the Politics of Anxiety.” Daedalus, July.Google Scholar
Ashutosh., Varshney 1995. Democracy, Development and the Countryside: Urban-Rural Struggles in India, New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ashutosh., Varshney 1997. “Postmodernism, Civic Engagement and Ethnic Conflict: A Passage to India.” Comparative Politics, October.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashutosh., Varshney 1998. “Why Democracy Survives.” Journal of Democracy, July.Google Scholar
Ashutosh., Varshney Forthcoming, Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India, New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Praveen, Visaria, and Sanyal, S. K.. 1997, “Trends in Rural Unemployment in India.” In Economic and Political Weekly, 27 January.Google Scholar
Myron., Weiner 1962. The Politics of Scarcity, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Myron., Weiner 1967. Party Building in a New Nation, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Myron., Weiner 1986. “The Political Economy of Growth in India.” World Politics, July.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myron., Weiner 1991. The Child and the State in India, Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Myron., Weiner 1997. “Struggle for Equality.” Paper presented at the conference on “India at Fifty,” 31 October-1 November, Princeton University.Google Scholar
John., Wood 1996. “At the Periphery but in the Thick of it.” In India Briefing 1996, edited by Oldenburg, Philip. New York: M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
THE WORLD BANK. 1997. India: Achievements and Challenges in Reducing Poverty, July.Google Scholar
Yogendra., Yadav 1996a. “Reconfiguration of Indian Politics: State Assembly Elections, 1993–95.” Economic and Political Weekly, 13 January.Google Scholar
Yogendra., Yadav. 1996b. “The Maturing of Indian Democracy,” India Today, 31 August 1999.Google Scholar
Yogendra., Yadav? 1999. “Politics.” In India Briefing: Looking Back, Looking Ahead, edited by Bouton, Marshall and Oldenburg, Philip. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar