To kill a democracy : India's passage to despotism / Debasish Roy Chowdhury and John Keane.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roy Chowdhury, Debasish, author.

Keane, John, 1949- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Despotism--India.

Despotism.

Democracy--India.

Democracy.

India.

India--Politics and government--2014-.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

vi, 320 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2021.

Summary:

"Combining poignant life stories with sharp scholarly insight, it rejects the belief that India was once a beacon of democracy but is now being ruined by the destructive forces of Modi-style populism. The book details the much deeper historical roots of the present-day assaults on civil liberties and democratic institutions. Democracy, the authors also argue, is much more than elections and the separation of powers. It is a whole way of life lived in dignity, and that is why they pay special attention to the decaying social foundations of Indian democracy. In compelling fashion, the book describes daily struggles for survival and explains how lived social injustices and unfreedoms rob Indian elections of their meaning, while at the same time feeding the decadence and iron-fisted rule of its governing institutions. Much more than a book about India, To Kill A Democracy argues that what is happening in the country is globally important, and not just because every third person living in a democracy is an Indian. It shows that when democracies rack and ruin their social foundations, they don't just kill off the spirit and substance of democracy. They lay the foundations for despotism." --Amazon.com.

Contents:

Tryst with Democracy

A Distant Rainbow p. 3

Social Emergencies

Health of a Democracy p. 41

A Million Famines p. 61

Ground Realities p. 74

Motion Sickness p. 97

Writing on the Wall p. 114

A New Slavery p. 137

Democide

Vote, or Else p. 163

Chremacracy p. 184

Elective Despotism p. 198

Justice Defiled p. 217

Bad News p. 240

Towards Despotism

Remaking the People p. 263.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780198848608

0198848609

OCLC:

1246537041