Democracy and Inequality in India
Political Economy of a Troubled Giant

This in-depth political and economic analysis demonstrates that India's growing economic inequality is contributing to democratic decline.

Atul Kohli (Author), Kanta Murali (Author)

9781108458559, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 October 2025

360 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.523 kg

'Kohli and Murali have produced the most comprehensive scholarly treatment of the Modi era yet. They cover a whole range of important political issues, including caste, gender, labor, regional disparities and India's changing relationship to the world. Economic growth and distribution constitute an important core of the book. Significantly, they argue that India's democratic backsliding is linked to the nation's rising economic inequalities. A book that should be widely read.' Ashutosh Varshney, author of Battles Half Won: India's Improbable Democracy

Contemporary India provides a giant and complex panorama that deserves to be understood. Through in-depth analysis of democracy, economic growth and distribution, caste, labour, gender, and foreign policy, Atul Kohli and Kanta Murali provide a framework for understanding recent political and economic developments. They make three key arguments. Firstly, that India's well-established democracy is currently under considerable strain. Secondly, that the roots of this decline can be attributed to the growing inequalities accompanying growth since the 1990s. Growing inequalities led to the decline of the Congress party and the rise of the BJP under Narendra Modi. In turn, the BJP and its Hindu-nationalist affiliates have used state power to undermine democracy and to target Indian Muslims. Finally, they highlight how various social groups reacted to macro-level changes, although the results of their activism have not always been substantial. Essential reading for anyone wishing to understand democracy in India today.

Introduction
I. Politics at the Apex: 1. Democracy and governance
2. Politics of growth and distribution
II. Politics from Below: 3. Caste, politics, and development
4. Labor, gender, and civil society mobilization
III. Regional Diversities: 5. Overview of regional diversity
6. Illustrating regional differences: Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab
IV. India and the World: 7. India and the world
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]