202 Political Process in India

Course Name: Political Process in India

About the Course:

Course objective:

Actual politics in India diverges quite significantly from constitutional legal rules. An understanding of the political process thus calls for a different mode of analysis -that offered by political sociology. This course maps the working of ‘modern’ institutions, premised on the existence of an individuated society, in a context marked by communitarian solidarities, and their mutual transformation thereby. It also familiarizes students with the working of the Indian state, paying attention to the contradictory dynamics of modern state power.

Course outcome:

• Understand the working of major political institutions in India

• Understand the major debates in Indian politics along the axes of caste, gender, region and religion

• Understand the changing nature of the Indian state and the contradictory dynamics of modern state power

Course Plan: Political Process in India

Session Plan:

Unit: I. Political Parties and the Party System

Trends in the Party System; From the Congress System to Multi-Party Coalitions

Unit: II. Determinants of Voting Behaviour

Caste, Class, Gender and Religion

VI. Affirmative Action Policies

Women, Caste and Class

VII. The Changing Nature of the Indian State

Developmental, Welfare and Coercive Dimensions

READING LIST

I. Political Parties and the Party System: Trends in the Party System; From the Congress System to Multi-Party Coalitions

Essential Readings:

R. Kothari, (2002) ‘The Congress System’, in Z. Hasan (ed.) Parties and Party Politics in India,New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp 39-55. E. Sridharan, (2012) ‘Introduction: Theorizing Democratic Consolidation, Parties and Coalitions’, in Coalition Politics and Democratic Consolidation in Asia, New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Additional Reading: Y. Yadav and S. Palshikar, (2006) ‘Party System and Electoral Politics in the Indian States, 1952-2002: From Hegemony to Convergence’, in P. deSouza and E. Sridharan (eds.) India’s Political Parties, New Delhi: Sage Publications, pp. 73-115.