The Writings of James Manor: Politics and State-Society Relations in India is a definitive collection of essays which depicts Manor’s range of interests. They are divided into five sections. The first is a commentary on the emergence of a consolidated democracy in India, and discusses two major themes—political awakening and political decay—which, together with political regeneration, forms the three key processes at work in Indian politics over the past forty years.

If one aspect of the management of democratic affairs is linked to the Indian voters and their shifting political choices, the other is where political leaders step in; and Manor is equally interested in both. He devotes three sections to the nature of political parties, the trends of regional politics, and how, at all these levels, political actors manage the challenges of governance. He addresses the regional dynamics of politics through the lens of political leadership in the fourth section. In the last section, he comments on the more recent phase of Indian politics.

The Foreword by Niraja Gopal Jayal is a fitting tribute from a colleague. A celebration of the singular scholarship of one of the leading chroniclers of Indian politics, this will be invaluable for students, teachers and everyone interested in the politics of India.

James Manor is Emeka Anyaoku Professor Emeritus of Commonwealth Studies in the School of Advanced Study, University of London.

Foreword by Niraja Gopal Jayal

Chapter 1: Introduction   
Part I  An Emergent Democracy--Attended by Awakening, Decay and Regeneration

Chapter 2: How Liberal, Representative Politics Emerged in India
Chapter 3: Anomie in Indian Politics: Origins and Potential Wider Impact
Chapter 4: Political Regeneration in India

Part II    Political Parties
Chapter 5: Where the Gandhi Writ Doesn’t Run
Chapter 6: The Congress Party since 1990
Chapter 7: In Part, a Myth: The BJP’s Organisational Strength

Part III Managing Political and Social Forces      
Chapter 8:  ‘Ethnicity’ and Politics in India
Chapter 9: Political Bargaining and Centre-State Relations in the Federal System
Chapter 10:  ‘Towel over Armpit’: Small-Time Political ‘Fixers’ in the Politics of India’s States

Part IV    Chief Ministers’ Struggles at the State Level
Chapter 11:   Pragmatic  Progressives in Regional Politics: The Case of Devaraj Urs
Chapter 12: India’s Chief Ministers and the Problem of Ungovernability
Chapter 13: Beyond Clientelism: Digvijay Singh in Madhya Pradesh

Part V  Politics and Society in the New Millennium
Chapter 14: India’s States: The Struggle to Govern
Chapter 15:  As Caste Hierarchies Wane: Explaining Inter-Caste  Accommodation in Rural India
Chapter 16:   Politics and Experimentation in India – The Contrast with China
Chapter 17:  What Do They Know of India Who Only India Know? The Uses of Comparative Politics