Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India

by Pradeep K. Chhibber, Rahul Verma

Indian party politics, commonly viewed as chaotic, clientelistic, and corrupt, is nevertheless a model for deepening democracy and accommodating diversity. Historically, though, observers have argued that Indian politics is non-ideological in nature. In contrast, Pradeep Chhibber and Rahul Verma contend that the Western European paradigm of "ideology" is not applicable to many contemporary multiethnic countries. In these more diverse states, the most important ideological debates center on statism-the extent to which the state should dominate and regulate society-and recognition-whether and how the state should accommodate various marginalized groups and protect minority rights from majorities. Using survey data from the Indian National Election Studies and evidence from the Constituent Assembly debates, they show how education, the media, and religious practice transmit the competing ideas that lie at the heart of ideological debates in India.

Genres: India, Politics, Nonfiction, History, Political Science, Social Science

336 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2018

Reviews

[Sivamaniyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India" by Pradeep K. Chhibber and Rahul Verma provides a detailed examination of India's political evolution, highlighting how contemporary parties have their roots in the Congress party. As Congress's influence declined, new forces emerged, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which advocates Hindu nationalism, and regional parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which challenge Congress's centralist policies and represent specific regional interests.

The book categorizes leaders into transactional, transformative, and accidental types. Jawaharlal Nehru is highlighted as a transformative leader, whose vision and policies shaped modern India and laid the foundation for its democratic and economic frameworks. Rajiv Gandhi is described as an accidental leader, thrust into power unexpectedly after his mother's assassination, leading to significant but unplanned reforms such as technological modernization. M. Karunanidhi and Prakash Singh Badal are cited as transactional leaders. Karunanidhi, of the DMK, was known for his adept coalition-building and negotiations, while Badal skillfully maintained power in Punjab through pragmatic alliances and strategic maneuvering.

Indian politics defies Western dualities such as state vs. church or working class vs. masters, being shaped instead by a complex interplay of caste, religion, region, and language. The state's efforts to manage this diversity, including policies like affirmative action, have sometimes led to appeasement politics, which, in turn, has resulted in high levels of corruption. This environment of corruption and ineffective governance contributed to the Congress party's significant decline and loss of public trust. The 2014 BJP victory, under Narendra Modi's leadership, marked a decisive shift from Congress's historical dominance, reflecting a desire for new leadership and a break from the entrenched political issues of the past.

[Amrita Kanjani · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content is really good. However, the editing could have been better. There is a lot of repetition, and the content could have been organized better.
That said, it's an interesting read, with a very different and interesting perspective about Indian politics, backed by data.

[Imaduddin Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most trenchant book I've read on Indian politics. Goes beyond the stories and views of individuals; goes beyond sociological analysis of communities. Takes a macro view of the history of Indian politics, identifying statism and the politics of recognition (and affirmative action for certain communities) as the two overarching and consistent cleavages running through India's political history, and divides India's electoral history into four phases, from the Congress Party's hegemony between 1952-67, to the era of the BJP's hegemony from 2014. The Congress Party has weak grassroots leadership and depends mainly on elites and consequently has been vulnerable to cannabilisation by regional parties which run on platforms of statism or more clearly run on a platform of politics of recognition. Where the Congress Party has not faced this cannibalisation but faces only the BJP, such as (ironically) in states such as Guajarat, it continues to be competitive. Voters accept gifts from politicians of all hews and sometimes it is a given, but patronage politics does not in the end influence who they cast their votes for. Voters and politicians will switch between parties, but for the most part only parties that fall within the same ideological spectrum. Charismatic leaders plays a role in winning votes, but only insofar as mobilising the base of the ideology they espouse. The politics of India is ideologically driven.

[Prakash Holla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book tells how in a political worldview dominated by either christian or islam ruled countries the political scenario in a multi ethnic country like India it is much more complex and has its own ground rules which can be grouped into a semblance of ideologies...the recent Bengal elections and it's successful prediction/management by Prashanth Kishore shows that there is an underlying science to it which is typical to Indian multi ethnicity..