The Jana Sangh


Book Description

First detailed study of India's fastest growing political party.







Ideology and Identity


Book Description

Indian party politics, commonly viewed as chaotic, clientelistic, and corrupt, is nevertheless a model for deepening democracy and accommodating diversity. Historically, though, observers have argued that Indian politics is non-ideological in nature. In contrast, Pradeep Chhibber and Rahul Verma contend that the Western European paradigm of "ideology" is not applicable to many contemporary multiethnic countries. In these more diverse states, the most important ideological debates center on statism-the extent to which the state should dominate and regulate society-and recognition-whether and how the state should accommodate various marginalized groups and protect minority rights from majorities. Using survey data from the Indian National Election Studies and evidence from the Constituent Assembly debates, they show how education, the media, and religious practice transmit the competing ideas that lie at the heart of ideological debates in India.




Strategy, Risk and Personality in Coalition Politics


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This book presents a theory of behaviour in coalitions and presents an application of the theory to Indian political party coalitions.




The Swatantra Party and Indian Conservatism (Classic Reprint)


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Excerpt from The Swatantra Party and Indian Conservatism Under these circumstances, it may only be an embarrassment to those whose help is appreciated to have their names mentioned here. Still, I should like to express my deepest gratitude to Professors Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph (now of the University of Chicago) and to Dr Barrington Moore, Ir., who painstakingly and affectionately - but with often distressingly honest criticism directed the Harvard University dissertation upon which this bookis based; and these same people have been involved subsequently in its wholesale revision. Thanks are due also to Professor Myron Weiner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who read the manuscript in toto and who rendered valuable criticism as well as encouragement and who generously made available some pertinent manuscript material of his own; and to my Dartrnouth colleagues, Professors Henry Ehrmann, Kalman Silvert, and Vincent Star zinger, who have given valuable aid and encouragement at various important junctures. Debts of gratitude are also due to Harvard University and the Fulbright Foundation for jointly sponsoring a year of research in India in 1962-35 to Professor R. Bhaskaran of the University of Madras, who was of much help during that year; to the Comparative Studies Center, Dartmouth College, for sup port of research time in 1964 - 5 and for supplementing a grant from the American Institute of Indian Studies, to make possible a second tripfto India in 1966 - 7, when much up-dating was under taken. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.




Electoral Politics and Hindu Nationalism in India


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This book analyses the rise and growth of the Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Jana Sangh in post independent India, tracking the electoral journey of the party from 1951 to 1971. Offering a comprehensive analysis of the party Bharatiya Jana Sangh - its origin, ideas and electoral performances in the first two decades of its journey - the book provides an overview of the state-wise electoral record of the party mobilizing Hindu support and managing factional disputes. It surveys the issues of conflicts between the intraparty factions dominated by the recruits from the Rastriya Swayamseyak Sangh and the others. The author also presents a critique of the Hindutva politics of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh on account of its somewhat imperfect appeal among the masses and its problems in raising real issues of socio-economic concern. With a special emphasis on the states situated outside the Hindi language belt of Northern India, the electoral outcome of the Jana Sangh during each national and state legislative elections are analysed. Based on the dialectics of ideology and exigency, this book makes a thorough investigation of the leadership-succession crises in the party, patterns of vote sharing at the regional level and trends of coalition with the non-Congress parties in the states. Providing a nuanced understanding of the processes leading to the strengthening of right-wing political parties in India, the book will be of interest to academics working in the fields of nationalism, party politics and South Asian Politics.




Socialist India


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Parliamentary Studies


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Toward a Free Economy


Book Description

The unknown history of economic conservatism in India after independence Neoliberalism is routinely characterized as an antidemocratic, expert-driven project aimed at insulating markets from politics, devised in the North Atlantic and projected on the rest of the world. Revising this understanding, Toward a Free Economy shows how economic conservatism emerged and was disseminated in a postcolonial society consistent with the logic of democracy. Twelve years after the British left India, a Swatantra (“Freedom”) Party came to life. It encouraged Indians to break with the Indian National Congress Party, which spearheaded the anticolonial nationalist movement and now dominated Indian democracy. Rejecting Congress’s heavy-industrial developmental state and the accompanying rhetoric of socialism, Swatantra promised “free economy” through its project of opposition politics. As it circulated across various genres, “free economy” took on meanings that varied by region and language, caste and class, and won diverse advocates. These articulations, informed by but distinct from neoliberalism, came chiefly from communities in southern and western India as they embraced new forms of entrepreneurial activity. At their core, they connoted anticommunism, unfettered private economic activity, decentralized development, and the defense of private property. Opposition politics encompassed ideas and practice. Swatantra’s leaders imagined a conservative alternative to a progressive dominant party in a two-party system. They communicated ideas and mobilized people around such issues as inflation, taxation, and property. And they made creative use of India’s institutions to bring checks and balances to the political system. Democracy’s persistence in India is uncommon among postcolonial societies. By excavating a perspective of how Indians made and understood their own democracy and economy, Aditya Balasubramanian broadens our picture of neoliberalism, democracy, and the postcolonial world.