Uncovers the greatest experiment in democratic history: the creation of the electoral roll and universal adult franchise in India.

India is heralded as the world's largest democracy. Yet, in recent years there has been growing alarm about its democratic health. To Kill a Democracy gets to the heart of the matter.Combining poignant life stories with sharp scholarly insight, it rejects the belief that India was once a beacon of democracy but is now being ruined by the destructive forces of populism. Democracy, the authors argue, is much more than government based on elections. Instead, they pay specialattention to the social emergency confronting Indian democracy. In compelling fashion, they describe daily struggles for survival and explain how great social injustices rob Indian elections of their meaning, while at the same time feeding the decadence and iron-fisted rule of its governinginstitutions. Much more than a book about India, To Kill A Democracy argues that what is happening there is globally important, and not just because every second person living in a democracy is an Indian. It shows that when democracies rack and ruin their social foundations they don't just kill offthe spirit and substance of democracy. They lay the foundations for despotism.

This book demonstrates the close relationship between religion and democracy in India. Religious practice creates ties among citizens that can generate positive and democratic political outcomes. In pursuing this line of inquiry the book questions a dominant strand in some contemporary social sciences - that a religious denomination (Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, etc.) is sufficient to explain the relationship between religion and politics or that religion and democracy are antithetical to each other. The book makes a strong case for studying religious practice and placing that practice in the panoply of other social practices and showing that religious practice is positively associated with democracy.

This volume explores democracy in the 20th century, examining the triumph, crises, recovery, and resilience of democracy and its associated cultures in this period. From 1920 democracy became the hegemonic discourse in political cultures, to the extent that even its enemies claimed its legacy. The end of empires ushered in an unprecedented globalization of democratic aspirations. Barriers of gender and race were gradually removed, and greater equality gave new meaning to citizenship. Yet, already in 1922 democracy was on its back foot with the rise of fascism. Even after the latter's defeat in 1945, liberal democracy died wherever communist democracy triumphed. The situation changed again from 1989, but democratic hubris was then checked by the rise of a new enemy-populism. The paradox is that the century of democracy's triumph was also that of its near final defeat, while the peace and stability that everybody desired and many expected as the outcome of the extension of democracy were, at best, intermittent and geographically limited. Each chapter takes a different theme as its focus: sovereignty; liberty and the rule of law; the “common good”; economic and social democracy; religion and the principles of political obligation; citizenship and gender; ethnicity, race, and nationalism; democratic crises, revolutions, and civil resistance; international relations; and democratic politics beyond the polis. These ten different approaches to democracy since 1920 offer a global, synoptic, and probing exploration of the subject.

This volume reconsiders India's 20th century though a specific focus on the concepts, conjunctures and currency of its distinct political imaginaries. Spanning the divide between independence and partition, it highlights recent historical debates that have sought to move away from a nation-centred mode of political history to a broader history of politics that considers the complex contexts within which different political imaginaries emerged in 20th century India. Representing the first attempt to grasp the shifting modes and meanings of the 'political' in India, this book explores forms of mass protest, radical women's politics, civil rights, democracy, national wealth and mobilization against the indentured-labor system, amongst other themes. In linking 'the political' to shifts in historical temporality, Political Imaginaries in 20th century India extends beyond the interdisciplinary arena of South Asian studies to cognate late colonial and post-colonial formations in the twentieth century and contribute to the 'political turn' in scholarship.

Wilkinson.--William Crawley "Asian Affairs"

The context, the contents as well as the title of the book can be best appreciated in light of some of the glaring news and incidents of modern-day India. One; more than thirty members of the legislative assembly of a prominent state of India, all duly elected by the people, flew to the capital of a different far away state and stayed in a posh hotel there for more than a month in order to make up their mind about their allegiance to their leader. It is an open question how the huge cost incurred on this account has been met and how the time wasted in this exercise has been accounted for. Another was the case when the Rashtrapati Bhawan (i.e. the President’s House) of India and the Rajyapal Bhawan (Governor’s House) of a state acted in concert overnight, as if there was a national crisis to be urgently taken of, in order to install the state government in haste, which ultimately proved to be abortive. A third is the case where the education minister of a state was found to have collected a very large sum of money in bribe for the appointment of teachers in government schools in his state, mostly in currency notes stacked in a house. All these incidents and many more, or rather increasingly more in this genre, make one think what kind of governance India has even after more than seven decades of declaring itself to be a democratic republic after having suffered almost two centuries of colonialism and exploitative governance. It is particularly intriguing since India’s struggle for freedom was waged under the inspiring leadership of Mahatma Gandhi who always advocated for democracy as a way of life and governance for free India and autonomous village governance would be the core of democratic India. Instead, India adopted in its Constitution essentially colonial system of governance under the veneer of parliamentary democracy and thus fell into the delusion of having democracy. The book examines all these aspects in their historical perspective and concludes that India’s governance still suffers from the virus of colonialism, i.e. exploitativeness and only democracy and democratic governance can deliver India out of the present deplorable situation and bring in its rightful prosperity commensurate with its excellent resources – natural, human as well as cultural.

Leading scholars consider how democracy has taken root in India despite poverty, illiteracy and ethnic diversity.

Debating Women's Citizenship, 1930-1960 is about the agency of Indian feminists and nationalists whose careers straddle the transition of colonial India to an independent India. It addresses some of the critical aspects of the encounter, engagement and dialogue between the Indian state and its women citizens, in particular, how this generation conceptualised the relationship between citizenship, equality and gender justice, and the various spheres in which the meaning and application of this citizenship was both broadened and narrowed, renegotiated and pursued. The book focuses on a cohort of nationalists and feminists who were leading members of the All India Women's Conference (AIWC) and the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). Drawing on the richness and depth of life histories through autobiography and oral interviews, together with archival research, this book excavates the mental products of these women's lives, their ideas, their writings and their discourse, to develop a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the feminist political personas of this generation, and how these personas negotiated the political and social terrains of their time. The book attempts to produce a new picture of this era, one in which there was far more activity and engagement with the state and with civil society on the part of this generation than previously acknowledged.

The most fundamental and far-reaching decision of India’s Constitution-makers was to establish the Indian democracy on the foundations of universal adult suffrage and on the principle of ‘one man; on vote’. The decision was an act of faith; homage to the people of India; implicit in the liberal outlook of India’s freedom struggle. The decision to adopt universal adult suffrage was simple and without controversy; but it was by all accounts momentous and revolutionary; making every adult Indian citizen irrespective of caste; sex and economic or educational qualification; a shareholder in India’s democratic enterprise. Consequent of that decision; India became the largest democracy in the world. The Indian Parliament exercises influence rather than power. Its functions lie primarily in processes of consultation and articulation and in the audit and scrutiny of the operations of the government. The substance of the power resides in the cabinet; and more particularly; in the office of the prime minister; but the sanction for that political power is provided by the representative principle embodied in the Parliament. Selected Stories of Honoré de Balzac by Honoré de Balzac: In this collection, Honoré de Balzac presents a selection of his acclaimed short stories, showcasing his incredible talent for vivid storytelling and character development. With its rich language and engaging narratives, this book is a must-read for fans of classical literature. Key Aspects of the Book "Selected Stories of Honoré de Balzac": Collection of Short Stories: The book features a collection of acclaimed short stories by Honoré de Balzac. Vivid Storytelling and Character Development: The stories showcase Balzac's incredible talent for vivid storytelling and character development. Useful for Literature Enthusiasts: The book is useful for fans of classical literature and those interested in the works of Balzac. Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright who is regarded as one of the greatest writers of Western literature. His book, Selected Stories of Honoré de Balzac, is highly regarded for its captivating storytelling and rich language.