LAW AND DEMOCRACY IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA: Constitution, Contact Zone, and Performing Rights

Book Details:

• Author: Tatsuya Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Itakura, Tomoaki Ueda, Kenta Funahashi, Shinya Ishizaka, Makiko Kimura, Maya Suzuki, Kodai Konishi

• ISBN: 9783030950514

• Language: English

• Edition: 2022

• Pages: 236

• Cover: Hardback

• Sale Territory: This edition may not be sold outside India

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

About the Book:

This book delves into the legal orders, actors, and democracy in contemporary India, focusing specifically on the everyday contexts and dynamics of human rights, citizenship, and socio-economic rights. It provides a comprehensive analysis of how legal systems are enacted, both from above and below.

The book explores the concept of institutionalization from above, where judiciary and legislative bodies strive to govern the people, and institutionalization from below, where the governed individuals attempt to expand their substantive rights embedded in their everyday lives. The analysis identifies contact zones between these two forms of institutionalization, which act as spaces for democratic participation and negotiation. These zones provide a deep insight into the dynamic interactions between law, rights, and democracy in modern India.

Through contributions from a diverse range of scholars, this book brings forward critical perspectives on various legal and human rights topics such as judicial independence, citizenship, the reservation system, and grassroots activism. Key case studies such as the Right to Information Movement, Anti-Militarization Movement in Northeast India, and the politics surrounding wind power development in the Thar Desert are also analyzed.

This work is invaluable not only for those interested in Indian politics but also for anthropologists and sociologists exploring the dynamics of laws and rights.