Modern Indian Political Thought: Text and Context is an essential reading for students of social sciences seeking to unravel the formation and text of the thoughts of great Indian political thinkers. It is an unconventional articulation of the political thought in India that evolved during the nationalist struggle against colonialism.

The salient features of the book are:

- In contrast to the existing literature on the subject, it carries a context-driven conceptualisation of the major strands of political thought that emerged in India in the past two centuries. It focuses on India's peculiar socio-political processes under colonialism that influenced the evolution of such thought.

- Incorporates new ideas and issues that have been articulated, though not as extensively, in contemporary works on Indian nationalist thought and movement.

- Discusses the development and articulation of political thought by leaders like Gandhi, Tagore, Ambedkar, JP, Nehru and Lohia.

- Covers the Indian freedom struggle in detail.

The distinguishing feature of this book is its linking of the text of Indian political thought with the context. In doing so, it challenges the ethno-centric interpretation of nationalism that, despite its roots in Western Enlightenment, evolved differently because of the context in which it was articulated.


Indian Government and Politics will serve as a standard textbook for undergraduate students of Political Science and Public Administration. It is also an incisive manual for the candidates appearing for various UPSC and civil service examinations, besides being invaluable for students and researchers of political science in general, and post-colonial contemporary Indian politics in particular.

The book explains the complexities of the Indian political process and its effects on the constitutional institutions of India. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, it takes a fresh look at the socio-political and economic scenario of contemporary India and unearths new areas of inquiry by posing pertinent questions on the nature of Indian politics. The strength of the book lies in its focused content, which thoroughly analyses the political happenings in India and studies how the political institutions have emerged and changed since the end of colonial rule in the country.

The highlights of this book include discussions on:

- genesis of the Indian Constitution;

- major constitutional offices of India;

- federalism;

- the legislature, executive and judiciary;

- planning and economic development;

- party system, Panchayati Raj and Indian administration; and

- contemporary issues in Indian politics and governance

This user-friendly textbook also contains carefully selected model questions for each chapter.