3 Review(s)

Indian plurality is unique in the world. No other country can boast of having so many races, religions, castes, cultures, languages and regional diversities within its boundaries as India can. This plurality while providing a very chequered and rich socio-cultural scenario, also impinges a few tensions that often lead to violent clashes. Since india is also the largest democracy of the world, its diversified society also has an effect on the elections right from the gram panchayat level to parliament. Though absolutely free and fair elections is more a theoretical concept than real because even in the UK and the US race, religion, sect or class do have some bearing on the electoral behaviour of the electorates, in the Indian context, the communities formed on account of caste (which is a typical Indian institution), religion, region, language, etc. play the overriding role in the outcome of elections. The book is the compilation of the research papers of the prominent social scientists who have dispassionately studied the electoral behaviour of the communities constituted on the bases of religion, caste and region. Additionally, there is a paper critiquing the role of media in the Indian election while two scholars propose necessary and practical reforms in the process of elections to make Indian democracy truly representative.