Indian Politics and Political Processes

Mithilesh Kumar Jha teaches political science at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. He earned his PhD in 2014 from the University of Delhi. Dr. Jha’s research interests are political thought, theory, and Indian politics. His noted publication is Language Politics and Public Sphere in North India: Making of the Maithili Movement (2018). His articles and review articles have appeared in journals like EPW, Studies in Indian Politics, Contributions to Indian Sociology, Seminar, The Book Review, and LSE Review of Books. He has been a recipient of the Charles Wallace Fellowship and ICSSR Fellowship for data collection abroad for his research in 2012.Kamal Nayan Choubey teaches political science at Dyal Singh College of Delhi University. He has completed his PhD from the Department of Political Science, Delhi University. He is the author of the book, Jaatiyon ka Rajneetikaran: Bihar Mein Pichhdi Jatiyon ke Ubhar ki Dastan (2008); Jungle Ki Haqdari: Rajneeti aur Sangharsh (2015); he has co-edited Bhartiya Neetiyon Ka Samajik Paksh (2017) and Bhartiya Gram Shrikhna (3 volume, 2019). He has edited two volumes of Dalit Gyan Mimansa (2022). He also did a Post-Doctorate from Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML, Delhi) on the experience of PESA and FRA (2012–2014). He has completed a Major Research Project with Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) Delhi on the role of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in tribal areas. He is a member of the editorial team of the reputed journal Pratiman (published by CSDS, Delhi) and published articles in journals like Economic and Political Weekly, Studies in Indian Politics, Social Change. He has translated many well-known academic books from English to Hindi, including Will Kymilika’s Contemporary Political Philosophy and John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice.

• List of Figures xList of Tables xiNotes on Contributors xiiAcknowledgements xviiList of Abbreviations xixIntroduction 1MITHILESH KUMAR JHA AND KAMAL NAYAN CHOUBEYSECTION IIndian Constitution, State and Emerging Trends 331 Indian Constitution: Antecedents, Philosophy and Basic Features 35OM PRAKASH2 State, Society and the Nation 53MOHINDER SINGH3 Populism and the ‘Nirgun’ People 75ADITYA NIGAM4 Forms of Contemporary Religious Movements 95MANINDRA NATH THAKUR5 Regulating the Electoral Domain: The Election Commission of India 115UJJWAL KUMAR SINGH AND ANUPAMA ROYSECTION IIPolitical Processes I: Changing Dynamics of Institutions and Political Parties 1296 Indian Judiciary: Changing Role and Dynamics of the Supreme Court of India 131INDRAJEET KUMAR JHA7 Indian Parliament: Changing Contours and Challenging Future 156MEENAKSHI GOGOI AND MITHILESH KUMAR JHA8 Federal Polity in the Multiparty Coalition Era and Beyond 174HEMANT DOGRA AND MITHILESH KUMAR JHA9 Policy Paths to Welfare and Citizen Well-Being: A Rights-Based Perspective 197HIMANSHU JHA10 Elections and Voting Behaviour: Historical Antecedents and Contemporary Trends 221SUMIT KUMAR SARMA AND MITHILESH KUMAR JHA11 The Congress Party and the Indian Party System 237RAJESH KUMAR12 Bharatiya Janata Party: Electoral Dominance or Ideological Hegemony? 259MITHILESH KUMAR JHASECTION IIIPolitical Processes II: Contested Determinants of Indian Politics 27513 Changing Dynamics of Caste and Politics in India 277SATAKSHI MALVIYA AND SHAMIK VATSA14 The Middle Class in India: Politics, Economy and Culture 296ASHUTOSH KUMAR15 Understanding Tribal India: Constitutional Rights, Issues and Challenges 318KAMAL NAYAN CHOUBEY16 Gender and Indian Politics 342RASHMI GOPI17 Secularism in India: Theories, Practices and Controversies 364ANURAG PANDEY18 Local Self-Government: Panchayats and Municipalities 387SMITA AGARWALSECTION IVPolitical Processes III: Site of Concerns and Challenges to Indian Democracy 40719 The Idea of Minority: An Indian Story 409HILAL AHMED20 Politics of Ethnonationalism and Multi-Level Governance in India 436PAHI SAIKIA21 Discourse on the Environment and Development in India 463MEENAKSHI GOGOI22 The Politics of the Public Health System in India 480SKYLAB SAHUIndex