Contemporary Politics in India: Theory and Issues

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India is the largest democracy in the World and has a rich heritage history in political system. Since independence, the country is on the path of federal structure and bearing the multy-party system. This parliamentary democratic system is the back-bone of the nation. In the age of the globalisation, the country is tackling some major challenges within the constitutional framework. The book entitled Contemporary Politics in India: Theory and Issues specially focuses on some theoretical aspects and some important issues related to challenging areas of conceptual analysis and implications of governmental policies as demanding by the Indian society. The book would be useful for all those interested in the Indian political society as well as impacts of governmental policies towards developmental process stating constitutional provisions.

Subhajit Ghosh is an Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science of Krishnath College, Berhampore, Murshidabad, obtained M.Phil. and Ph.D. in International Relations from Jadavpur University. He is the author of the book Problems of International Relations and edited two books i.e. Indo-Bangladesh Relations: Comprehensive and Contemporary Perspective, Constitution Government and Problems of Governance in South Asia, India's Maritime Outlook: Strategy and Connectivity have been accepted widely. He has published numerous scholarly articles in Peer Reviewed Journals and also in edited volumes. He has also been the coordinator and guest faculty of the University of Kalyani (Krishnath College Centre) and previously attached with Kazi Nazrul University, Asansol. Besides invited lecture he has presented papers in International and National level seminars/conferences.

Prof. Subhadip Mukherjee, Head and Assistant Professor of Political Science of Jatindra Rajendra Mahavidyalaya, Amtala, Murshidabad since a long time and also a guest faculty of the Murshidabad University. He has also been a guest faculty of the Post-Graduation section of the University of Kalyani at Krishnath College Centre. Previously he has obtained Master Degree in Political Science with high first class marks from the University of Burdwan. Along with three edited books he has published around twenty five research articles in different reputed journals and edited volumes on his credit. Delivered lectures in seminars and conferences. Presently he is engaged in research work for the degree of Ph.D. on his area of specialization and in future, intends to explore the area of Political Sociology, Political Thought, Indian Politics and Political Theory.

Following an extraordinary 76-day journey, through 14 countries and travelling some 12,300 kilometres, I had the privilege to check out the bike and meet the man, Kumar Shah, on a summer's night at Ace Cafe London.

On that August evening of 2013, the commitment, dedication and passion of Kumar was as infectious as it was evident and, unlike Kumar, whilst all men recognise the wheel, few know what it represents, and still fewer aspire to live with or in accord with it!

Mapping the significance of the various contemporary issues of Indian Politics is notable which are plying major role in the country. India is the largest democracy in the World and has a rich heritage history in the political systems. Since independence, the country is on the path of federal structure and bearing the multy-party system. This Parliamentary democratic system is back-bone of the nation. Considering the fact of the challenges before the country some major policies have been implemented. This book has tried to identify and nourish the policies taken by the Government of India and as well as concentrated on some conceptual analysis related to Indian political society in a broader sense. In this endeavour we have studied and made a deep research to justify the themes which are gathered in the content. It would give immense pleasure to us to get feedback from the academic community as well as from the students of social science.

Since independence India has been functioning as a responsible democracy. The same has been appreciated by international community. It has successfully adapted to the challenging situations. Keeping in mind the journey of a country like India as a largest democracy some issues and incidents have raised before the government time to time. Describing in a constitutional manner some theoretical frame has been identified. It is needless to say that the policies taken by the government are also to be important to review the trends of the political scenario. Therefore, the book tilted Contemporary Politics in India: Theory and Issues is an attempted to re-justify the issues and also make some theoretical dimensions to think further more.

The institutional mechanisms for federal governance are contingent and susceptible to revision. Indian federal structure has been shifted from a parliamentary federalism to a considerably federalized system under a multi-party system with coalition government since 1989. India's political system is in constant flux. Parliamentary federalism is a unique hybrid system of governance that is context-driven. Based on both parliamentary practices and federal principles. This paper argues that in response to contemporary challenges, the federal governance structure in India requires transitional move. A directional shift is required from a cooperative model to a collaborative model of federal governance in view of various endogenous and exogenous imperatives of change, such as rising assertiveness of civil society; rising ""self awareness"" of regional and local political elites: globalization, privatization, and retreat of the central state; and increasing reliance of the national government on intergovernmental coordination mechanisms rather than centralized/hierarchical mechanisms for policy making and implementation. Thus, I reflect on the possibility of supplementing the federal practice in India (known for being ""federal in form and unitary in spirit"") with collaborative institutions and deliberative processes to achieve policy coordination. Institutional reforms are required to generate the right incentives for welfare enhancing, multi-stakeholder engagement and thereby improve the quality of democracy. The contemporary political and economic scenario in India is not conducive to a centralized decision making process. Thus, the central government would better achieve policy goals by drawing all the stakeholders into more collaborative interactions. Otherwise, the union government's unilateral policy pronouncements, given the escalating power and influence of the sub-national and non-state actors, will only produce confusion and chaos. Collaborative federalism is therefore not merely a structural device for distribution of powers between different layers of government; it is also an articulation of a basic philosophy accommodating diverse regional interests in the name of a nation.

The concept of Fourth World nationalism is one of the major debatable theme arise in contemporary political theory. The term ""Fourth World"" came into wider use with the publication of Spanish Sociologist Manuel Castells's famous book ""The Fourth World: An Indian Reality"" in 1974. The concept became synonymous with stateless, poor, and marginal nations. Think tanks such as the Centre for World Indigenous Studies have used the term in defining the relationships between ancient, tribal, and non-industrial nations and modern industrialised nation-states from the late 1970's. Later on the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, communicate and organized amongst Fourth World peoples, those who have accelerated in the form of international treaties between aboriginal nations for the purposes of trade, travel, and security. In general sense, Fourth World is the extension of the three world order, which is associated with sub-populated people who are excluded from the global society. The term is not commonly accepted. It does not very concentrated with any particular nation-state and is not specifically related with any sovereign state.

Various theories have been born in the news of the events embedded in the Indian nationalist discourse. The concept of the Fourth World is relatively new to established and well-known theories. The Fourth World issue has become a subject of research since the late twentieth century in India. The Fourth World provides a contribution to the understanding of structures of subjectivity pertaining to thinking and feeling that allow for deeper and more thorough excavations central to the analyses of postcolonial studies. A recent publication, Exploring Fourth World Literatures: Tribals, Adivasis and Dalits (2011), edited by Raja Sekhar Patteti, asserted to incorporate Dalits and Tribals of India to be a part of Fourth world representative. It also portrays the life and struggles of the Dalits as well as the tribal people for their dignity, justice and equality. It exposes the sufferings, frustration and torture imposed on them and their revolt against inhuman treatment. Dalits as part of the fourth World are spread across Europe, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc. They are the better social and cultural reflections of natives in India.

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