ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Suhas PalshikarSubscribe to Suhas Palshikar

Making Sense of ‘New India’

Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy by Christophe Jaffrelot, Princeton University Press 2021; First Indian Edition by Context, Westland Publications; pp 639, `899.

Loss of Majority and Loss of Principles

The fall of the MVA government in Maharashtra leaves behind a residue of alarming precedents.

Understanding the Nature of Party Competition and Politics of Majoritarianism

Through its six years in office, the Bharatiya Janata Party government has become a “Modi regime.” This new regime is set to change the characteristics of India’s competitive politics such as structure of party competition and nature of agenda, through the shifting of the middle ground and forging a new social coalition behind it. But above all, through the application of populism and authoritarianism, the most crucial change that the new regime is bringing about is the politics of majoritarianism and that is, more than anything, changing and shrinking democratic politics.

The Curious Case of the Congress Party

The extraordinary nature of the crisis faced by the Congress means that the revival of the party is necessarily predicated upon its renewal. This task becomes particularly onerous as it has to be achieved in the face of a challenge posed by the ruthless hegemonic force controlling politics.

Decoding the Grammar of Constitutionalism

India’s Founding Moment: The Constitution of a Most Surprising Democracy by Madhav Khosla, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 2020, pp 219, ₹599.

 

Towards Hegemony

The rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party has contributed to the emergence of a new ideological framework to India’s democracy and public life in general. This framework might be better understood if it is seen as the crafting of hegemony. The politics of crafting a new hegemony did not emerge all of a sudden. Beyond the immediate context, the rise of the party needs to be understood in the broader political context that has shaped up since 1989.

Congress’s Gujarat Model

Following the result of the Gujarat assembly elections, the print media has witnessed a slew of write-ups by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionaries trumpeting the party’s victory and explaining how its indefatigable leadership and deep organisational roots contributed to that victory.

Third Life of the Shiv Sena

The most crucial issue is whether, in their reincarnations, parties can substantially give up on the characteristics inherited from the time of their foundation. The example of the Shiv Sena suggests that moderation and normalisation do take place but the predominant tendency is to convert notoriety into normal.

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