000			01888 a2200157 4500
999			_c39290 _d39290
020			_a9781032425733
082			_a320.80954 _bNAT-D
100			_aNath, Suman
245			_aDemocracy and Social Cleavage in India: _bEthnography of Riots, Everyday Politics and Communalism in West Bengal C. 2012-2021/ _cSuman, Nath,
260			_bRoutledge _c2023
300			_a149p. _bIndex, Reference
520			_aThis book explores the emergence of identity politics and violence at the forefront of political life in an Indian state. Through a close reading of everyday politics in West Bengal, India, which until recently boasted of the longest-serving elected communist government in the world, the volume presents unique observations on Indian politics and its trajectories. One of the first ethnographic studies of religious polarisation and its interface with politics in West Bengal, this book: Offers a fresh perspective, both theoretically and empirically, by using longitudinal, multi-site ethnography, to explain the mechanisms by which identity issues have re-emerged; Studies key policy changes, political practices and series of invented traditions during periods of political transition; Examines intricate details of the micro-dynamics of the formulation and expansion of Hindu and Islamic fundamentalism and their political counterparts, which carry a capacity to push away secular, democratic forces from the existing political spectrum; Sheds light on the mechanisms of riots, its design, organisational bases and mechanisms of spread; Includes key observations from the 2021 elections in the state. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of political science, social and cultural anthropology, sociology and South Asian studies.
650			_a Politics _vViolence _xGovernment _zWest Bengal
650			_aDemocracy _vSocial Cleavage _zIndia
942			_2ddc _cBK