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The crisis in India has intensified, revealing itself in secessionist movements and in increased inter-castle conflicts. The country has witnessed the rise of Hindu nationaflilsm and the worst communal massacres since Independence following the destruction of the mosque in Ayodhya. The issue before the country now is whether or not it can find within its own traditions and moral and material resources the leadership to restore a political and communal balance in state and society.
List of contents
List of figures and tables; Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction: continuities and discontinuities between pre- and post-Independence India; Part I. Political Change: Introduction; 2. Political change, political structure and the functioning of government; 3. Parties and politics; 4. State and local politics; Part II. Pluralism and National Integration: Introduction; 5. Language problems; 6. Crises of national unity: Punjab, the northeast and Kashmir; 7. Communal and caste conflict: secularism, Hindu nationalism and the Indian state; Part III. Political Economy: Introduction; 8. Politics, economic development and social change; 9. Political aspects of agricultural change; 10. Conclusion: problems and prospects; Bibliography; Index.
Summary
In this edition, Paul Brass looks at political, cultural and economic changes since gaining independence and considers recent events, asking whether the country can find the right leadership to restore a political and communal balance in state and society.
