This is the gripping story of India's democracy in the early 21st century.
The ninth LokSabha election of November 1989 marked the beginning of a new political era, and since then the nation's political landscape has been dramatically transformed by the rise of regional parties and leaders. Sumantra Bose illuminates the roots, significance and challenges of this bottom-up federalization driven by the will of the people and the transition to a de-centered democracy. The principal personalities, events, and turning points of the pre-1990 and post-1990 eras come to life in the pages of Transforming India.
The vitality of Indian democracy derives from the enthusiastic participation of hundreds of millions of ordinary Indians--the demos. But its transformation into a polity 'of, by and for the people' awaits solutions to great problems of poverty, inequality, and alienation. Bose provides riveting accounts of the long-term challenges posed by the Maoist insurgency and the unresolved issue of Kashmir.
Transforming India: Challenges to the World's Largest Democracy combines lucid writing with incisive analysis, and masterly command of detail with unwavering attention to the big picture. Bose finds the story of Indian democracy profoundly inspiring, but never loses sight of its flaws and warts, challenges and contradictions. This book is the essential guide to understanding the present and the future of India's politics.