Contents

Introduction
Rob Jenkins and Louise Tillin

PART I: LEADERSHIP AND POWER

1. Political Leadership
Diego Maiorano

2. ‘Post-Clientelist, Post-Patronage’? Or is India Still a ‘Patronage Democracy’?
John Harriss

3. The BJP’s Hegemony and Its Limitations
Christophe Jaffrelot

PART II: POLITICS AND IDENTITY

4. Caste in the Lives of India’s Political Elite: Identities and the Making of Democratic Imaginations
Surinder S. Jodhka

5. Are ‘Dominant Castes’ Losing Dominance? Politics in the Post-Mandal Era
Suhas Palshikar

6. Land Reform as a Source of Identity Politics
Narendar Pani

PART III: DEMOCRACY AND ELECTIONS

7. The Story of a Participatory Upsurge in Indian Elections
Sanjay Kumar

8. What’s in a Name? Would a Liberal Democracy by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?
Niraja Gopal Jayal

9. National versus State-level Issues as Determinants of National Electoral Outcomes
Eswaran Sridharan

PART IV: POLICYMAKING AND GOVERNANCE

10. Has Panchayati Raj in India Improved Governance and Participation?
Naresh Chandra Saxena

11. Rise and Fall of the United Progressive Alliance
Zoya Hasan

12. The Modern University in a Local Arena: The Politics of Educational Reform in Princely Mysore
Manisha Priyam

Notes on Contributors
Index

Like many of the world’s leading democracies, India faces unprecedented stresses, from economic challenges wrought by premature deindustrialisation to political tensions created by majoritarianism. The erosion of constitutionally framed democratic governance represents more than just an old political order giving way to a new one: institutional decay has been the result of conscious, sustained and systemic political action. The multidimensional pressures on the rule of law make it essential for us to deconstruct democracy as it is conceived, understood and practised in India today.

Deconstructing India’s Democracy highlights the enduring relevance of James Manor’s influential body of work, the result of over fifty years of scholarly engagement with India and Indian politics. Examining the varied meanings of democracy for the Indian polity, the book situates these discussions within an examination of identity, caste, sub-nationalisms, the role of political leaders, parties and brokers, autocracy, clientelism, patronage, elections, popular movements, and decentralisation, thus offering a framework for re-evaluating democracy in India.

The twelve essays, by leading scholars, address diverse aspects of two central themes in Manor’s work—political decay and political renewal—to diagnose the country’s democratic deficits while also highlighting signs of regeneration, resilience, awakening and agency. The authors deploy a range of methods and perspectives to analyse the interplay between regions and the nation, and variations between states, including Karnataka, where James Manor’s work goes back many decades.