Peter Ronald deSouza is Professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi. He was earlier Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla.

List of Abbreviations
Foreword by Shiv Visvanathan
Preface
Introduction: Indian Democracy in the Hall of Mirrors

SECTION 1 | Analytical Frames

1. The Intellectual’s Public Life: Living between Thought and Action
2. Contemporising the Mahabharata
3. Re-reading Hind Swaraj
4. From ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ to ‘Ardhanarishwara’: Can We Recalibrate the Way We Live?
5. Liberalisation Discourse and ‘Natural’ Inequality
6. The Idea of the ‘Political’

SECTION 2 | Aspirations of a Young Nation

1. What would Azad have said to the Angel Now?
2. Institutional Visions and Sociological Imaginations: The Debate on Panchayati Raj
3. Why Politics Needs the Ashram
4. Jawaharlal Nehru University: The Incubator of Critical Minds
5. India’s Heart is in the Right Place
6. Let us make Adam Pregnant
7. Raja Dharma and Buddhi Dharma
8. The Democratic Virtue of Unreason
9. The ‘Greatness’ of a ‘Landmark’ Judgment
10. The Indian Commonsense of Democracy

SECTION 3 | Anxieties of a Plural Democracy

1. The Afterlife of the Nehruvian Legacy
2. Too Early for an Audit
3. Thirteen Days of Civic Education and a Death
4. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Most Intolerant of Us All
5. How Long can a Queue Hold?
6. A Journey from Nalanda to Patna
7. Never Say Retire
8. Loyalty, Voice and Exit
9. Leadership and the Public Interest
10. Modi and his Chakravyuha
11. She Knew which Battles to Fight
12. The Banality of Evil
13. Matlabi Democracy
14. The Incomplete Case of Aruna Shanbaug
15. Two Tales of Forgiveness
16. Matters of Faith Need no Proof

SECTION 4 | Accommodations of a Layered Society

1. Humiliation in a Crematorium
2. Iconography for a Plural Nation
3. Setting, Not Vetting and Betting
4. Sensex and Sensibility
5. An Alternative Ghar Vapasi Campaign
6. The BJP and the Changing Party System in India
7. So We are Brothers of the Books
8. Through the Lens of a Constitutional Republic: The Case of the Controversial Textbook
9. The Compelling Compromise
10. Offensive Expression: Arguing for a Differential Response

SECTION 5 | Ambivalences of a Constitutional Polity

1. Rahbar, Razhan and the Working of Indian Democracy
2. The Larger Picture at Hriday Kunj
3. Being Economical with the Truth
4. Holidays on Holy Days?
5. Just a Handshake
6. The Question of the Sealed Envelope
7. A Passion for Justice
8. Hanging Justice: A Play in Two Parts
9. The Vulnerable Side of Suu Kyi
10. Satire and Policing the Boundary of Free Expression
11. Between Being Pragmatic and Being Principled

Index

‘Should we be pragmatic or principled, realistic or idealistic, intellectuals or activists, interpreters or changers of our society? With courage and caution, Peter deSouza ushers us into a realm of “reflections” where we feel an obligation to be both. These reflections are important, but as J. L. Austin reminded us, importance is not important, truth is. They ring true.’ 

Arindam Chakrabarti, Lenney Distinguished Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Hawaii

‘A nuanced rendering of the liberal predicament in post-Independence India, the book turns the spotlight on a society that is seeking to bridge the demands of constituents simultaneously occupying different, sometimes irreconcilable, mental universes. The essays here should force serious introspection, both among political and thought leaders.’

Harsh Sethi, Consulting Editor, Seminar, New Delhi

‘Peter deSouza’s ambitious collection of essays describes and discusses the dynamics of democracy and the social and political transformations taking place in India. This book deserves to be read by all who wish to understand the working of contemporary democratic processes.’

Zoya Hasan, Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University