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Power and Contestation: India since 1989
1989 marks the unraveling of India's 'Nehruvian Consensus' around the idea of a modern, secular nation with a self-reliant economy.
Caste and religion have come to play major roles in national politics. Global economic integration has led to conflict between the state and dispossessed people, but processes of globalization have also enabled new spaces for political assertion, such as around sexuality. Older challenges to the idea of India continue from movements in Kashmir and the North-East, while Maoist insurgency has deepened its bases. In a world of American Empire, India as a nuclear power has abandoned non-alignment, a shift that is contested by voices within.
Power and Contestation shows that the turbulence and turmoil of this period are signs of India's continued vibrancy and democracy. The book is an ideal introduction to the complex internal histories and external power relations of a major global player for the new century.
Caste and religion have come to play major roles in national politics. Global economic integration has led to conflict between the state and dispossessed people, but processes of globalization have also enabled new spaces for political assertion, such as around sexuality. Older challenges to the idea of India continue from movements in Kashmir and the North-East, while Maoist insurgency has deepened its bases. In a world of American Empire, India as a nuclear power has abandoned non-alignment, a shift that is contested by voices within.
Power and Contestation shows that the turbulence and turmoil of this period are signs of India's continued vibrancy and democracy. The book is an ideal introduction to the complex internal histories and external power relations of a major global player for the new century.
- GenresIndiaNonfiction
219 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2007
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About the author
Nivedita Menon
19 books100 followersNivedita Menon is a writer and a professor of political thought at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. She previously taught at Lady Shri Ram College and the Department of Political Science at Delhi University.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 9, 2018
Probably the worst book in the entire series
This is a lazy book, with little good work behind it, and I realized some of it is unreliable. Some I realized right away, and some required some fact checking. Then again, remember one author is a communist, and the other is a worker's advocate, so these perspectives come from the extreme (little bit loony) left
The authors wrote what they feel rather than what they know, and failed to do adequate work.
It includes such 'gems' as "98% of the borders are international borders" haha, incorrect figures about India's telecom, and flat-out nonsense about radiation, nuclear power and uranium. They frequently (and incorrectly) talk about all the people affected by uranium mines, however, India has only two uranium mines and they were not in the region the authors seem to think they are. (there have been zero in Manipur, despite what the authors say.) There was zero mention of their coal mines, tho there are 6 times as many. Its a pretty silly book ultimately, so there isn't much good in it.
It has the feel of shoddy pseudo-academics who don't know what they are talking about, with a mixture of newspaper articles, and scholarly articles as their influences.
This is a lazy book, with little good work behind it, and I realized some of it is unreliable. Some I realized right away, and some required some fact checking. Then again, remember one author is a communist, and the other is a worker's advocate, so these perspectives come from the extreme (little bit loony) left
The authors wrote what they feel rather than what they know, and failed to do adequate work.
It includes such 'gems' as "98% of the borders are international borders" haha, incorrect figures about India's telecom, and flat-out nonsense about radiation, nuclear power and uranium. They frequently (and incorrectly) talk about all the people affected by uranium mines, however, India has only two uranium mines and they were not in the region the authors seem to think they are. (there have been zero in Manipur, despite what the authors say.) There was zero mention of their coal mines, tho there are 6 times as many. Its a pretty silly book ultimately, so there isn't much good in it.
It has the feel of shoddy pseudo-academics who don't know what they are talking about, with a mixture of newspaper articles, and scholarly articles as their influences.
September 2, 2020
A good introduction to a leftist perspective on Indian politics and International Relations. Takes up topics that are extremely important but not taken up by major political parties and not part of the national narrative.
Doesn't bother to explain the criticisms of the core ideas of BJP and the reasons why people resonate with them so much. The right thrives where the left pretends is empty space.
Mostly a compilation of the failings of the Indian state, a knee-jerk reaction to which is to indulge in whataboutery or cynicism.
Key takeaways: 1) And we as a nation have no sense of scale. Displacement of tribal populations and changes in their entire way of life through coercion by the state trumps every case of communal violence any day. And yet.
There are way too many things to care about in India. And we almost always care about the wrong ones. I write this as the SSR (Rest In Power ❤️) case hogs every minute of every day on every news channel. Rhea Chakraborty hogs the greatest space on the screen, serving as soft p*orn for uncles and hate p*orn for aunties, as 116 farmers commit suicide on an average every day. But it's all good.
2) Most geopolitics is countries using Good as a bargaining chip rather than a guiding ideal but that's just how the world order is. Uh. Change the world or something lmao.
Doesn't bother to explain the criticisms of the core ideas of BJP and the reasons why people resonate with them so much. The right thrives where the left pretends is empty space.
Mostly a compilation of the failings of the Indian state, a knee-jerk reaction to which is to indulge in whataboutery or cynicism.
Key takeaways: 1) And we as a nation have no sense of scale. Displacement of tribal populations and changes in their entire way of life through coercion by the state trumps every case of communal violence any day. And yet.
There are way too many things to care about in India. And we almost always care about the wrong ones. I write this as the SSR (Rest In Power ❤️) case hogs every minute of every day on every news channel. Rhea Chakraborty hogs the greatest space on the screen, serving as soft p*orn for uncles and hate p*orn for aunties, as 116 farmers commit suicide on an average every day. But it's all good.
2) Most geopolitics is countries using Good as a bargaining chip rather than a guiding ideal but that's just how the world order is. Uh. Change the world or something lmao.
August 3, 2025
Great introduction to the Hindutva movement in India, and how right wing extremism has grown on the subcontinent
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews