Sejuti Das Gupta – författare

Has there been a shift in agrarian policies in India since liberalisation? What has been the impact of these policies on new class formation and consolidation of existing ones? Did proprietary classes with close relations to the state influence the formulation of these policies? Do class–state relations have to be uniform across nations under globalisation? Studying post-liberalisation India, this book answers these questions by scrutinising the tenets of agrarian policies of three Indian states – Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Karnataka. In doing so, it analyses the political economy of agricultural policy and the class–state relations operating in the country concluding that class and its relation to the state have come to occupy a defining role in the politics of new India. This edition has an all-new introduction and conclusion that considers the farmer movements in 2020-21 and how that impacts agrarian class structure and role of the state.

Identity politics has widened representation for the marginalised groups in democracies, while neoliberalism has deepened inequality. This volume finds answers to the paradox of widening representation and worsening inequality especially in India exploring the themes of development and identity in recent times. Inspired by Caesar Basu’s works as a political thinker, this volume weaves in economic concerns with the socio-cultural aspects of identity and contends that representation is not sufficient. Further, it highlights the importance of reinstating redistribution to serve both democracy and development. It looks at neoliberal policies and how they maximise negative liberty by focussing on the individual thereby obliterating the question of the social location of individuals. The contributors to this volume investigate these issues through the lens of religion, gender, caste, and raise interdisciplinary questions concerning ecological conditions of labour, the institution of democracy and capitalist regimes, linkages among multiple sectors of the Indian economy, devaluation of women’s work in the care economy, material distribution of resources, and liberty and civil rights. This book creates a much-needed conversation between the study of development through the economic perspective and the cultural or political sociology perspective.It will be of interest to students and researchers of politics especially identity politics, economics, sociology and social justice, development studies, and social geography.