Elusive Democracy: Dalit Politics, Elections, and the Dilemmas of Representation by Michael A. Collins ISBN 9781009567275, 1009567276 instant download

Elusive Democracy: Dalit Politics, Elections, and the Dilemmas of Representation by Michael A. Collins ISBN 9781009567275, 1009567276 instant download

Today, India is widely celebrated as the world’s largest democracy. However, not all
groups experience India’s political institutions the same way. This book draws on
extensive interviews with longtime Dalit (ex-“untouchable”) activists and original
archives of party documents to explore the democratic transformation of one of
India’s most prominent Dalit-led parties—the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK;
Liberation Panthers Party). Through a historical and ethnographic account of the
VCK’s transition from boycotts to ballots, this book provides a novel perspective on
India’s democratic trajectory, as well as its limits. Whereas VCK leaders initially viewed
elections as an instrument to spur development and contest power asymmetries, they
would come to recognize that democratic institutions can equally function as a means
of containment and control. The research shows how democratic politics opened
new space for Dalit political advancement while simultaneously imposing unique
constraints on these leaders that would reconfigure the very nature of their politics.