Short On Democracy: Issues Facing Indian Political Parties (imprintone)

Indian political parties, some of the most visible and powerful bodies in Indian public life, pose several questions for the idea of democracy. Despite seeking the support, and accepting the verdicts, of an electroate fiercely committed to the ballot box, many Indian parties have no identifiable internal structure, or abdicate their own internal procedures, and almost never state policies or intentions in any but the most general terms. This cals in question the ways in which Indian parties can claim to be representive and accountable bodies in a republican democracy. That problem is rendered the more urgent because India's condition gives documented cause for serious concern, with the poorest third of the billon-plus population even poorer and worse fed than they were thirty years ago, with major sytemic and physical infrastructure, such as education, agriculture, water supply, and the natural environment close to catastrophe, and with the wealthiest classes growing daily almost unimaginably wealthier. In this collection, ten analysts, including academics and senior journalists, examine selected Indian political parties and related phenomena, providing explanations from a range of perspectives as well as offering possible directions which could help transform India's formal democracy into a substantive one.
About Author :
Arvind Sivaramakrishnan took his degree in philosophy and sociology and his doctorate in political philosophy from the University of Southampton. He also holds a postgraduate diploma in social administration and a professional teaching qualification, both from the University of Southampton. He has taught Politics at the Univeristy of Southampton and the Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad, as well as Social Policy at Suffolk College, Ipswich. He has also taught Politics, Sociology, and Law at Tauntons College, Southampton, and has published academic papers in politics, political philosophy, and public administration. In the United Kingdom he has, additionally, worked as a frontline employee in the National Health Service and in local government social and education services. Apart from writing for academic publication, he contributes centre-page articles and specialist book reviews to The Hindu, and has recently published Through a Glass Wall (Hyderabad: ICFAI, 2007), a collection of his shorter writings.
Contents :
Acknowledgment The Contributors Introduction: What Kind of Democracy? The Tyranny of Idenity: Party Politics in India and its Changing Forms of Authoritarianism Fault-Lines in the Indian Party System Congres after Indira Gandhi: Decline and Revival? Political Parties and Democracy: the BSP in Uttar Pradesh Democracy and Parties: the Case of the Samajwadi Party The Personality Cult in Indian Politics Forward March of Hindutva Halted? Film Stars' Fan Clubs and Politics of Tamil nadu Democracy and the People Bibliography Index