Twenty years ago India was still generally thought of as anarchetypal developing country, home to the largest number of poorpeople of any country in the world, and beset by problems of loweconomic growth, casteism and violent religious conflict. Now Indiais being feted as an economic power-house which might well becomethe second largest economy in the world before the middle of thiscentury. Its democratic traditions, moreover, remain broadlyintact.How and why has this historic transformation come about? Andwhat are its implications for the people of India, for Indiansociety and politics? These are the big questions addressed in thisbook by three scholars who have lived and researched in differentparts of India during the period of this great transformation.Each of the 13 chapters seeks to answer a particular question:When and why did India take off? How did a weak state promoteaudacious reform? Is government in India becoming more responsive(and to whom)? Does India have a civil society? Does caste stillmatter? Why is India threatened by a Maoist insurgency? Inaddressing these and other pressing questions, the authors takefull account of vibrant new scholarship that has emerged over thepast decade or so, both from Indian writers and India specialists,and from social scientists who have studied India in a comparativecontext.India Today is a comprehensive and compelling textfor students of South Asia, political economy, development andcomparative politics as well as anyone interested in the future ofthe world's largest democracy.

List of Figures and Tables viiAbbreviations ixPreface and Acknowledgements xiii1 Making Sense of India Today 1Part I: Economy2 When and Why Did India Take Off? 233 How Have the Poor Fared (and Others Too)? 474 Why Hasn't Economic Growth Delivered More for IndianWorkers? 805 Is the Indian State Delivering on Promises of 'InclusiveGrowth' and Social Justice? 100Part II: Politics6 How Did a 'Weak' State Promote Audacious Reform? 1217 Has India's Democracy Been a Success? 1408 Is Government in India Becoming More Responsive? 1589 Has the Rise of Hindu Nationalism Halted? 17710 Rural Dislocations:Why Has Maoism Become Such a Force inIndia? 197Part III: Society11 Does India Have a Civil Society? 22112 Does Caste Still Matter in India? 23913 How Much Have Things Changed for Indian Women? 25814 Can India Benefi t From Its Demographic Dividend? 28615 Afterword: India Today, and India in the World 302Glossary 307Bibliography 309Index 361