The Indian Civil Sphere

As India has become increasingly central to global politics, the fate of Indian democracy has become a matter of urgent concern. In the early glow of newly Independent India, democracy seemed a miraculous if hard won achievement. In recent decades, the very possibility of Indian democracy has been subjected to the withering pessimism of post-colonial critique. Building on the insights of civil sphere theory, this volume charts a new path, demonstrating that predictions of the death of Indian democracy have been greatly exaggerated. In the face of the Congress's frailties and fractures and the BJP's authoritarian reach, the civil sphere in India has remained powerfully resilient. For all its imperfections, India's court system has continued to institutionalize rights of free speech and association and to protect the independence of free and fair elections. Within this protected space, and despite threats from big business and big government, print and digital media have continued to broadcast powerful critical interpretations, speaking truth to power at critical junctures in the development of contemporary India, most recently during the 2024 elections. The continued vitality of India's civil sphere has nourished the vast waves of anti-caste movements that have energized Indian politics, creating civil repairs that have pushed it closer to realizing the promises of its founders to become a more equal and less hierarchical society.  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.