• header Image

Themes in Indian Politics

Home/ Themes In Indian Politics
Course Type Course Code No. Of Credits
Discipline Core NSLG1LP109 4

Semester and Year Offered : Winter Semester

Course Coordinator and Team : Pooja Satyogi

Email of the coarse coordinator : psatyogi[at]aud[dot]ac[dot]in

Pre-requisites: None

Does the course connect to, build on or overlap with any other courses offered in AUD?

Themes in Indian Politics is a major for students pursuing BA in Law and Politics. It is a survey course that aims to take forward the conversation on constitutional democracy with the students, with which they were acquainted in earlier semesters. This interdisciplinary course on Indian politics works with the spirit of demonstrating the relationship between the legal and the political and how it frames the articulation of the political. It achieves this by dwelling on perennial themes in India politics like caste, class, gender, religion, development and how they intersect and define the legal and the political.

  • Specific requirements on the part of students who can be admitted to this course: (Pre requisites; prior knowledge level; any others – please specify) None
  • No. of students to be admitted (with justification if lower than usual cohort size is proposed): As per AUD rules
  • Course scheduling: (summer/winter course; semester-long course; half-semester course; workshop mode; seminar mode; any other – please specify) Semester-long course
  • Proposed date of launch:Monsoon 2020

How does the course link with the vision of AUD?

This course reflects the mission of a university named after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar by placing his core concerns—equality, dignity, and social justice—at the centre of political analysis. By examining how caste, gender, tribe, class, and religion shape the experience of citizenship, the course encourages students to interrogate the structural barriers that Ambedkar argued would weaken Indian democracy. Its emphasis on constitutional mechanisms, state accountability, and the everyday workings of power resonates with Ambedkar’s belief that political democracy must be grounded in social democracy. In doing so, the course equips students to critically evaluate contemporary governance and contribute to Ambedkar’s ongoing project of building a more just and inclusive society

How does the course link with the specific programme(s) where it is being offered?

This course aligns closely with the vision of the School of Legal and Socio-Political Studies by weaving together constitutional law, political theory, sociology, and contemporary policy analysis. Its examination of development, caste, religion, gender, tribe, and class requires students to move across disciplinary boundaries to understand how legal frameworks and social structures shape political life. By placing statutes, judgments, and constitutional debates alongside ethnographic accounts, historical trajectories, and political-economic analyses, the course models the integrated approach that such the School seeks to cultivate. Students learn not only how laws are written and interpreted, but how they are lived, contested, and transformed within society. In doing so, the course fosters precisely the kind of analytical, critical, and empirically grounded thinking that an interdisciplinary legal and socio-political education aims to promote

Course Details:

Summary:This course introduces students to the exciting field of politics through prominent issues that frame the discourse about the political in India. It explores how the nature of democratic politics, often confrontational, informs ideas about the strengths or weaknesses of the Indian polity. It will compel the students of law and politics to think whether welfare, development and empowerment are indeed the identities around which the Indian state articulates itself. Taking caste, religion, gender, tribe, class and the discourse on development as seminal issues around which questions of social justice and politics are articulated in India, the course seeks to educate students about the social hierarchies in which the state itself is embedded even as it attempts to overcome them in its aspiration for a better idea of India

 ​​​​​Objectives

  • To introduce students to the historical and conceptual foundations of Indian politics by examining development, democracy, and state formation since Independence.
  • To understand the major axes along which political claims in India are articulated—caste, religion, gender, tribe, and class— and to study how these shape citizenship, rights, and state responses.
  • To critically engage with constitutional, legal, and policy frameworks that govern questions of social justice, secularism, gender rights, tribal autonomy, and labour protections.
  • To familiarize students with key scholarly debates on development models, affirmative action, secularism, violence, informal labour, and neoliberal restructuring.
  • To analyse how marginalized groups negotiate with, resist, and reshape state institutions, and how these negotiations challenge dominant understandings of democracy and political representation.
  • To develop conceptual clarity about the continuities and shifts in the Indian political landscape—from Nehruvian socialism to liberalization, identity mobilization, and contemporary majoritarianism.
  • To cultivate skills in critical reading, argumentation, and interdisciplinary analysis, linking political theory, constitutional law, sociology, and development studies.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Explain the evolution of India’s developmental and political trajectory from Independence to the post-liberalization period, and assess how development became central to national identity.
  • Analyse the politics of caste in India, including legal remedies, affirmative action, state-led limitations, and contemporary forms of caste violence.
  • Evaluate debates on secularism, communalism, and the legal regulation of religion, and interpret contemporary controversies such as Ayodhya, temple-entry cases, and mob lynching.
  • Critically assess gendered dimensions of Indian politics, including legal reforms on violence against women, debates on the Uniform Civil Code, and gendered access to religious spaces.
  • Distinguish between caste-based and tribe-based forms of structural violence, and explain the legal-political design of the Fifth and Sixth Schedules, displacement, and tribal self-governance.
  • Interpret class relations and labour politics in India, with a focus on informalization, neoliberal reforms, and changing worker movements.
  • Interrelate themes across modules—development, identity, violence, representation, and state power—to develop a holistic theory of Indian politics.
  • Demonstrate analytical skills through written and oral assessment, including exams, book reviews, response essays, and presentations

Overall structure

Module 1: Introduction and Context:

The introductory module discusses the trajectory of India’s development since Independence. Here the emphasis is on explaining how models of development–welfare, development, empowerment-became pivots around which definition of the nation itself have been attempted. The module discusses the entire arc of Nehruvian socialism, green revolution and self-reliant development and post-liberalisation growth led model of development. It is in the backdrop of this discussion that other modules examine political questions, often articulated by the diverse and differentially located citizens of India, that challenge mainstream understanding of democracy and development.

Week 1

  • Chatterjee. Partha. 2010. ‘The State’. In Niraja Jayal and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds). The Oxford Companion to Politics in India, pp. 1-15
  • Palshikar. 2019. ‘The Political Culture of ‘New’ India: Some Contradictions’. In Niraja Gopal Jayal (ed). The Re-forming of India: The Nation Today. Viking, pp: (e-copy)
  • Jacob, Suraj. 2016. ‘Development as State Identity: Locating the State vis-a-vis Development Reality in India.’ Brown Journal of. World Affairs. 23 (2016): 205-222

Module 2: Caste and Politics:

The module on caste focusses on the question of social justice through a discussion on the reservation policy and legal remedies available to Dalits against caste violence. It foregrounds how the state both attempts to put in place policies aimed at social justice, but, also, under cuts them through legal means. For instance, although there is reservation in public sector employment, a recent Supreme Court case ruled the promotions are not covered within the provisions of affirmative action policies. In other words, the state allows for higher echelons to continue to be dominated by higher castes. Similarly, in recent times the Supreme Court of India had attempted to dilute the provisions of the SC/ST Act. The module brings attention to newer forms of caste and community based violence in contemporary India.

Week 2

  • Berg, Dag-Erik. 2020. ‘Foundations of Caste and Constitutional Democracy: Ambedkar, Equality and Law’. In Dynamics of Caste and Law: Dalits, Oppression and Constitutional Democracy in India, pp. 36-73, Cambridge University Press
  • Guru, Gopal. 2010. ‘Social justice’. In Niraja Gopal Jayal and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds). The Oxford Companion to Politics in India, pp.361-80.
  • Sitapati, Vinay. 2016. ‘Reservations’ in Sujit Choudhry, Madhav Khosla, and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds). The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution, pp. 720-742

Additional Reading

  • Jhodka, Surinder. 2010. ‘Caste and Politics’. In Niraja Jayal and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds). The Oxford Companion to Politics in India, pp.154-67.

Week 3

  • Berg, Dag-Erik. 2020. ‘Goals of Law, Goals of Order: Institutional Conversion after Atrocities’. In Dynamics of Caste and Law: Dalits, Oppression and Constitutional Democracy in India, pp. 150-169, Cambridge University Press
  • Jaffrelot, Christophe. 2005. ‘The Politics of the OBCs’, in Seminar, Issue 549, pp. 41-45.
  • Teltumde, Anand. 2019. ‘Onslaughts on Dalits in the Time of Hindutva’. In Niraja Gopal Jayal (ed). The Re-forming of India: The Nation Today. Viking, pp: (e-copy)

Additional Readings

Module 3: Religion and Politics:

This module discusses the place of religion in the political landscape of India. It acquaints the students to the debates on secularism and communalism in the Indian context and the legal and political responses to how India strives to place itself vis-a-vis matters of belief and religion. In the latter half of the module, the discussion will shift to contemporary questions such as access to religious places and new legal developments in thinking the religious entity. The discussion will centre on historicizing these debates to give the students a sense of their articulation over a period of time.

Week 4

  • Chandhoke, Neera. 2019. ‘Secularism under Siege’. In Niraja Gopal Jayal (ed). The Re-forming of India: The Nation Today. Viking, pp: (e-copy)
  • Chandra, Bipan. 2004. Communalism: A primer. Anamika Pub & Distributors, pp: 1-9
  • Sen, Ronojoy. 2016. ‘Secularism and Religious Freedom’. In Sujit Choudhry, Madhav Khosla, and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds). The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution, pp. 885-903.

Week 5

  • Chandrachud. Abhinav. 2020. ‘Holy Cow’. In Republic of Religion: The Rise and Fall of Colonial Seculairsm in India. Penguin (e-copy)
  • Chandrachud. Abhinav. 2020. ‘Temple and State’. In Republic of Religion: The Rise and Fall of Colonial Seculairsm in India. Penguin (e-copy)
  • Janhastakshep. 2015. Mob Lynching in Dadri: A Report, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 50. Issue No. 42, pp. 83-87
  • Truschke, Audrey. 2019. ‘The Ayodhya verdict is a cornerstone of the Hindu Rashtra’. Caravan Magazine, December 6 https://caravanmagazine.in/religion/ayodhya-babri-masjid-ram-mandir-supreme-court-audrey-truschke
  • Additional reading
  •  ‘Hindutva as a way of life’ (extracts) Ramesh Yeshwant Prabhoo v. Prabhakar K. Kunte, 1996 AIR 1113

Module 4: Gender and Politics

This module acquaints the students with the formation of gender question in independent India. This has largely been around domestic and public spaces in which women face violence; how Indian laws have attempted to address violence and their limitations thereof. The module also builds on the citizen and community debate through a discussion the Uniform Civil Code, Sabarimala and shrines. The discussion throughout is going to be on whether legislative enactments and amendments in criminal law are enough to arrest violence against women.

Week 6

  • Agnes, Flavia. ‘Protecting women against violence? Review of a decade of legislation, 1980-89.’ Economic and political weekly (1992): WS19-WS33.
  • Haksar, Nandita. 1999. ‘Human Rights Lawyering’.  In Amita Dhanda and Archana Parashar (eds.) Engendering Law: Essays in Honour of Lotika Sarkar, pp. 71-88. Lucknow: Eastern Book Company
  • Jaising, Indira. 2014. ‘Bringing Rights Home: Review of the Campaign for a Law on Domestic Violence’. In Kalpana Kannabiran (ed). Women and Law: Critical Feminist Perspective: New Delhi: Sage, pp. 1-32.

Week 7

  • Agnes, Flavia. 2008. ‘Women's rights and legislative reforms: an overview.’ International Journal of Legal Information 36, no. 2: 265-270
  • Satish, Mrinal. 2017. ‘The Farooqui Judgment’s Interpretation of Consent Ignores Decades of Rape-Law Reform and Catastrophically Affects Rape Adjudication’. Caravan Magazine, October 7 https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/farooqui-judgment-consent-ignores-rape-law-reform-catastrophically-affects-adjudication
  • Satish, Mrinal., & Majumder, S. 2013. A Brief Synopsis of the New Offences/Procedures Recommended by the Justice Verma Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law. Journal of National Law University Delhi, 1(1), 172–189.

Week 8

  • Ahmed. Ambar. 2020. ‘Common Civil Code- Gender Just or Merely Uniform’. In Sunalini Kumar (ed).
  • Engendering/Ungendering: Women, Power and Politics in India. Delhi: Orient Blackswan
  • Bhat, Mohsin Alam. 2019. ‘Why a PIL on women’s entry at the Nizamuddin dargah cannot be compared to  Sabarimala’. Caravan Magazine, June 4 https://caravanmagazine.in/religion/nizamuddindargah-pil-women-entry-sabarimala
  • Parthasarathy, Suhrith, 2020. An Equal Right to Freedom of Religion: A Reading of the Supreme Court’s Judgment in the Sabarimala Case. Oxford Human Rights Hub Journal.

 

Module 5: Tribes and Politics

The question of tribes in India is quintessentially linked to those of development and displacement. This forms the discussion in this module. The instructor will delineate how the question of caste and violence is different from that of tribes and violence. The Atrocities act does not consider structural violence of dispossession and political representation; it centres on individuated atrocity. The discussion on the 5th and the 6th schedule delineates questions of protection of cultural distinctiveness and that of political representation. The instructor will explicate how regionally distinct the tribes question becomes from the north-east of India to Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, for instance.

Week 9

  • Chaube. S. K. 2012. (third edition). Ch.6, ‘The Sixth Schedule’ in Hill Politics in Northeast
  • India, New Dellhi: Orient Black Swan, pp. 97-113
  • Guha, Ramachandra. 2007. ‘Adivasis, Naxalites and Indian Democracy’. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 42, Issue No. 32, pp. 3305-3312
  • Savyasaachi. 1998. Tribal Forest- dwellers and Self-rule: The Constituent Assembly Debates on the Fifth and the Sixth Schedules, pp. 1-53 (selections)

Week 10

  • Sundar. Nandini. 2020. ‘Why India needs Scheduled Tribes to educate Future Judges’. The Wire, April 28
  • https://thewire.in/rights/why-india-needs-scheduled-tribes-to-educate-future-judges
  • Xaxa, Virginius. 2005. ‘Politics of language, religion and identity: Tribes in India," Economic and Political Weekly, 40 (13), pp. 1363-1370
  • Xaxa. Virginius. 2012. ‘Tribes and Development: Retrospect and Prospect’ in Dev Nathan and
  • Virginius Xaxa (eds), Social Exclusion and Adverse Inclusion. New Delhi: Oxford University
  • Press. pp. 23–35.

Additional Readings and some resent developments

  • B. Sharma. 2010. ‘The 1990s: Great Expectations’; ‘The 2000s: Disillusionment Unfathomable’, in Unbroken History of Broken Promises: Indian State and Tribal People, Delhi: Freedom Press and Sahyog Pustak Kuteer, pp. 64-91
  • Gill, Preeti (ed.) 2014. The Peripheral Centre: Voices from India's Northeast. Zubaan,
  • Xaxa, Virginius. 2018. ‘Isolation, Inclusion and Exclusion: The case of Adivasis in India’ in V.S. Rao, Adivasi Rights and Exclusion in India, Oxon and New York: Routledge, pp. 27-40.

Module 6: Class and Politics

Roughly 82% of the Indian workforce is employed in the informal sector according to the India Labour Market Update of the year 2016. This module dwells on the predicament of the India informal labourer and the inadequacy of the neo-liberal India to account for protecting its workforce. It ends with a discussion on the Code of Wage Bill, 2017.

Week 11

  • Agarwala. Rina. 2006. ‘From Work to Welfare: A New Class Movement in India’. Critical Asian Studies, 38 (4), pp. 419-44.
  • Das. Raju. J. 2019. ‘Class Relations, Class Struggle, and the State in India’. In Critical Reflections on Economy and Politics in India: A class Theory Perspective. Leiden; Boston: Brill, pp. 233-282.
  • Das. Raju. J. 2019. ‘Capitalist Development and Liberal Democracy under a Right-Wing Regime’. In Critical Reflections on Economy and Politics in India: A class Theory Perspective. Leiden; Boston: Brill, pp. 347-376

Week 12

  • Bhattacharya. Sudipta and Uma Basak. 2013. ‘The Changing Employment Scenario during Market Reform and the Feminization of Distress in India’. In Two decades of market reform in India: Some dissenting views, ed. Sudipta Bhattacharyya. New York: Anthem Press, pp. 159-176.
  • Kumara, K. 2018. ‘India: Modi government accelerates anti-worker privatization drive.’ World Socialist Website. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/04/09/modia09.html
  • McCartney, M. 2013. ‘Going, going, but not yet quite gone: the political economy of the Indian intermediate classes during the era of liberalization.’ In Two decades of market reform in India: Some dissenting views, ed. Sudipta Bhattacharyya. New York: Anthem Press, pp. 243-260.
  • Swaminathan, Padmini. 2014. Outside the Realm of Protective Legislation: The Saga of Unpaid Work in India. In Women and Law: Critical Feminist Perspective: New Delhi: Sage, pp. 115-143

Assessment  TBA

Top