The Regional Roots Of Developmental Politics In India

A comparative chapter applies the model to data from China, Brazil, Russia, and the former Soviet Union.

Seminar papers.

India’s growing economic and socio-political importance on the global stage has triggered an increased interest in the country. This Handbook is a reference guide, which surveys the current state of Indian politics and provides a basic understanding of the ways in which the world’s largest democracy functions. The Handbook is structured around four main topics: political change, political economy, the diversity of regional development, and the changing role of India in the world. Chapters examine how and why democracy in India put down firm roots, but also why the quality of governance offered by India’s democracy continues to be low. The acceleration of economic growth since the mid-1980s is discussed, and the Handbook goes on to look at the political and economic changes in selected states, and how progress across Indian states continues to be uneven. It concludes by touching on the issue of India’s international relations, both in South Asia and the wider world. The Handbook offers an invigorating initiation into the seemingly daunting and complex terrain of Indian politics. It is an invaluable resource for academics, researchers, policy analysts, graduate and undergraduate students studying Indian politics.

Concentrating on the micro-institutional variables and the role of regional elites, the author investigates the political roots of the divergence of development trajectories among India's subnational states since the liberalization, as an essential aspect of the political economy of development in India.

This book emphasizes the need for experimenting with more deliberate and rigorous policy processes to attain balanced regional development, which can promote both equity and efficiency in India’s development discourse. The institutional mechanisms for dealing with regional imbalance in India have not been very successful so far. With rising discrepancies in development, demand for autonomy continues along with a new dimension of regionalism arising from submerged identity along with political and economic aspirations, which demanded new channels for solution. So far, attempts to create space for autonomy have possibly not optimally accommodated the conceptual mechanisms like equity and democratic process. Thus democratizing policy process using six pillars of voice: knowledge, objective, fundamental values, implementation framework and public awareness can ensure a better policy outcome for dealing with the persistent challenges of regional disparity in India. This book further focuses on the need for democratizing the policy process for regional development through discussion and inclusion. Such a transition needs innovation in policy regime, which can be attained through following six pillars (i) Democratic voice of stakeholders in policy development and implementation; (ii) Clear policy objectives that advance the common good, based on voice; (iii) Unbiased, sound and comprehensive knowledge and data bases. (iv) Consistency with constitutional values; (v) A sound implementation framework ensuring user-friendliness, transparency and rationality of decision-making processes, effective grievance redress, clear accountability and independent evaluation; (vi) Public awareness and support of policies with relevant and public participation in implementation.

In recent decades, India has been witness to the assertion of geographically, culturally and historically constituted distinct and well-defined regions that display ethnic, communal, caste and other social–political cleavages. This book examines the changing configurations of state politics in India. Focussing on identity politics and development, it explores the specificities of the regions within states — not merely as politico-administrative constructs but also as conceived in historical, geographic, economic, sociological or cultural terms. Adopting a comparative approach, the book looks at alternative theoretical approaches — the quest for homeland, identity, caste politics and public policy. This second edition includes a new Introduction that updates the research in the area, while further developing the theoretical framework. One of the first major volumes on federalism in India, including studies from across the nation, this book will be indispensable for students and scholars of political science, sociology, history and South Asian studies.

This study examines the relationship between democratic governance and economic development in post-independence India. The author addresses the paradox of India's political economy: why have five decades of democratically guided strategies failed to reconcile economic growth with redistribution.