Full Description
Indian democracy is in trouble. A still widely popular, democratically elected leader stands athwart it, dangerously authoritarian and disrespectful of civil liberties, the independence of the courts and the press, and disputatious vis-à-vis organized counter-powers. Leading intellectuals, Indian and Western, write about the death of Indian democracy and the passage to despotism. Despite these clear and present dangers, this volume suggests that the death of Indian democracy has been greatly exaggerated. To understand why, we must move beyond democracy narrowly understood as a governmental form to a broader theory of the cultural, associational, and institutional life necessary to sustain it.
Building on the insights of civil sphere theory, this volume presents a complex understanding of the progress, reaction, and upheaval that has buffeted independent India. The vitality of India's civil sphere nourished vast waves of anti-caste movements that energized Indian politics, creating civil repairs that brought it closer to its founding promise to become a less hierarchical society. Yet, the very success of these progressive movements triggered tsunamis of backlash reaction - Hindu revivalism, Muslim exclusion, horrific outbreaks of communal violence. Narendra Modi and the BJP rode these reactionary waves to power, but, as the 2024 election demonstrated, it is a power still hedged in by the continued vitality of India's civil sphere. Despite pressures from big business and big government, print and digital media continue to broadcast powerful critical interpretations, speaking truth to power at critical junctures. The Indian legal order, despite enormous problems, continues to protect speech, association, the right to vote and the right to have those votes counted accurately.
A powerful demonstration of both the richness of civil sphere theory and the vitality of Indian democracy, The Indian Civil Sphere will be of interest to students and scholars in sociology, politics and Asian studies and to anyone interested in the politics of the world's largest democracy.
Contents
Introduction: The Indian Civil Sphere between Vitality and Suppression
Jeffrey C. Alexander
Chapter 1: Caste, Incivility, and the Prospects of Civil Repair
Hugo Gorringe and Karthikeyan Damodaran
Chapter 2: The Indian Civil Sphere and the Question of Caste: The Case of the Hathras Movement
Raju Chalwadi
Chapter 3: Can the Brahmin Be Civil? The Ambiguous Repair of Caste Privilege
Ramesh Bairy
Chapter 4: Civil Sphere versus Civil Religion: Hindutva and its Multiple Opponents in Karnataka
Suryakant Waghmore
Chapter 5: The Authoritarian Civil Sphere, Populism, and Secular Sectarianism
Ajay Gudavarthy
Chapter 6: Pious Altruism and Muslim Politics in Post-Babri Mumbai
Qudsiya Contractor
Chapter 7: Financial Inclusion: Private Interventions in the Civil Sphere
Kartikeya Saboo
Chapter 8: The British Raj and Its Legacy for Democracy and Civil Sphere in India
Krishan Kumar
Comments: India and the Civil Horizons of Political Community
Trevor Stack
Comments: Leveraging the Heuristic Potential of the Indian Civil Sphere
Carlo Tognato
Conclusion: Two Antagonistic Visions of India's National Identity
Peter Kivisto
Giuseppe Sciortino
