Democracy on the Move? Reflections on Moments, Promises and Contradiction

Description

There is no doubt that mobilisation is an essential feature of democracy as it is a means of expression of people’s anguish. However, mobilisation must also be analysed critically in the context of democracy being either deepened or undermined. The imporatnce of mobilisation lies in the fact that it is essential for understanding democracy beyond its instittutional prism as institutions’ success or failure cannot be considered as the only yardstick of the success or failure of democracy. This book is an attempt to discern the significance and implications of the mobilisation led by the Team Anna against corruption, by way of pressing for the constitutional institution in the form of Jan Lokpal. The book does not claim to bring in a finished understanding of the situation; instead, the idea is to bring together the initial reflections of the Indian academia from different frames of reference. The book aims at providing wider horizons to concerned citizens and students of Indian democracy. The authors have reflected upon the moments of the mobilisation while evaluating promises and contradictions. The book contains articles and interviews to unwind the numerous aspects of the Team Anna-led mobilisation. However, the thoughts contained herein should not be treated merely as an archive of immediate reflections on the mobilisation; in fact, eminent scholars have attempted to use the Anna moment to make general theoretical points about Indian democracy.

Manindra Nath Thakuris at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Dhananjay Raiis at the Centre for Gandhian Thought and Peace Studies, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.