India Today

 Post-colonial India has been on a roller coaster and it has waded through complex situations, fought wars and faced international isolation at occasions. At the same time its growth story has been a gradual process, even though the preceding 20 odd years have witnessed somewhat drastic changes in its polity and economy.
     Surveying the present history of India, the authors compartmentalize it in three significant phases- the legacy of the British rule which continued to dictate the social systems especially in rural India, second, the more substantive phase of nation building and economic progress under Jawaharlal Nehru and subsequently his daughter and heir, Indira Gandhi. The third and crucial phase, which is the main thrust of the book, is post economic liberalization process- being enunciated in early 1990’s, it was when no one hoped that India would be one of the fastest growing economies in the world. There was bi-partisan support for economic reforms in the country conduced by a relative decline in communal violence. The process of reforms miraculously survived and strengthened during the prolonged era of coalition politics.
    The overarching/underlying question the book deals with is “when and why didIndiatake off?”(p.23). The authors dissect an array of issues and as the preface suggests, adopt a cross-sectional approach in doing so. Arguments and findings have been embedded in proper theoretical framework, in a T-shaped analysis, where a question is posed and subsequently plausible answers sourced from existing literature are used to draw inferences. The account is coherent, crafted with great dexterity and attention to detail.
    Under politics, the book delineates multiple issues such as Hindu fundamentalism and emergence of Maoist movement bringing out how these factors have impacted the political processes in the country. To define their understanding of Hindutva phenomenon, the authors focus on BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) regime during 1999-2004. In this section, however, the authors ignore the nuances of the constant tussle between compulsions of coalition politics (which too is largely a post 1991 phenomenon) and BJP’s constant dilemma on aligning to Hindutva agenda under RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)’s influence. The author’s broader explanation in this regard appear too simplistic.
     Poverty debate is divided into 2 parts where the authors acknowledge that incidence of extreme poverty inIndiahas fallen down (p.77) and refer to the “missing middle” class (p.78). The book points to drawback inIndia’s agricultural sector but paint an optimistic picture with improving statistics of female literacy. However, it argues that higher literacy rate, democratic strength and sustained economic growth have failed to provide the women inIndia, a sense of security and emancipation (p.285). On caste, the authors argue that caste as a system is waning even as in the rural context the low caste labourers continue to be discriminated in the society. More than defining the hierarchical order, caste today is, the authors argue, an instrument applied to “jostling up against each other” (p. 256).
    The authors feel poor standards in health and education sectors, lack of physical infrastructure and widespread corruption will keepIndiafrom reaping benefits of the demographic dividend- a factor which works during a short span where it could reach fruition or gets wasted (p.301).Chinahas fared better thanIndiain utilizing the demographic bulge, especially during the 1980’s and 1990’s by achieving better standards in the social sectors. The author towards the end pin their hopes on the youth bulge and their becoming instruments of change in Indian society. They look forward to an enhanced access to basic education and a bigger role for the non-government organizations (NGOs) in the social sphere. The authors probe the existence of civil society inIndiaat a time whenIndiais witnessing nascent growth in civil society activism, aided by a vociferous and vigil media. The authors judgeIndiaas a healthy democracy which gives space to media and social movements.
    The books presents a coherent analysis on Maoism based on “greed” “grievance” and the “feasibility” proposition. Thereafter, the authors rightly diagnose and attribute the rise of Maoism to “dispossession and displacement” caused as a result of development process. (p.206).  The Maoist cadres have tapped into grievances of the poor and hence enjoy  an expanding support base amongst masses.
    It is a daunting task to captureIndia’s diversity and momentum in a book. As a country,Indiais a complex whole with intersecting cultures and traditions and overlapping faith and beliefs. From being resigned to backwardness, stagnant economy, extreme poverty and dismal illiteracy ratio,Indiahas slowly transformed. Moving from a socialist to a market capitalist model,Indiahas adopted to changing paradigms in economic progress.  The authors adeptly synthesise and balance this mix between continuity and change supported with suitable empirics, positioning their overall arguments onIndia’s accelerated growth and concerted economic reforms.  The authors perceiveIndiaas a rather weak state that showed courage to introduce audacious reforms in its system- due to compelling domestic and international requirements.
    Tables and graphic representations in the book aid greater understanding. The work best serves as a handbook onIndia’s contemporary growth unpacking a host of issues - rise in economic and political stature amidst a maturing democracy. The research is designed on interdisciplinary comparative approach and the account in scripted in prose style. The work excels in terms of literature survey- an extended bibliography add to book’s value for beginners, scholars and practitioners who wish to get a quick wrap on India’s post-Cold War evolution and learn about the inertia and pace in India’s phenomenal growth story. The authors acknowledge repetitions while intending to make each section, each chapter an end in itself.
   The book is well-timed in the backdrop of an emerging context where Indiafeatures as an important regional actor, close in the vicinity of China, another rising power vying for global ascendance.  The authors commendably subsume routine information by framing a perspective around it. Within India, such information is consumed/absorbed by the educated class on a daily basis which explains its limited readership within India. Nonetheless, in view of the fact that some of the best volumes on India have come from outside, the book falls close to the legacy of seminal works such as Paul R Brass’s The Politics of India Since Independence, wherein the central argument was also spun around the 3 core dimensions of politics, society and economy. Similarly, some thematic resonance could be traced back to Stephen Cohen’s India: Emerging Power and Granville Austin’s Working a Democratic Constitution: A History of the Indian Experience.

Priyanka Singh is associate fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, India