• ISBN13: 9789380607047
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: Sociology and Anthropology
• Publisher: Ratna Sagar
• Publisher Imprint: PrimusBook
• Publication Date: August 16, 2010
• Pages: 834
• Original Price: INR 2650.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 1840 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Regional Studies

This book makes a detailed study of the functioning of India’s democracy on the one hand and the way India relates to the world on the other. It explores the manner in which dimensions of secularism and democracy, non-alignment and state intervention in the economy have been transformed with the course of time, especially since 1980s-90s. It examines India’s political culture, an arena where caste and religion, including Hindu nationalism and lower caste politics, play a major role in determining the course of electoral politics. The liberalisation of the economy has resulted in growth but not necessarily development and in discussing the ways in which India relates to the world this volume also takes a close look at India’s ties with the US, Russia and Europe so as to analyse its status as an emerging world power.

Christophe Jaffrelot is research director at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris and teaches South Asian politics and history at Sciences Po (Paris), where he served as director from 2000 to 2008. Arguably one of the world's most respected writers on Indian society and politics, he has published many works, including "The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics, 1925 to the 1990s"; "India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India"; and "Dr. Ambedkar and Untouchability: Fighting the Indian Caste System."