The Politics of Contemporary India

Undergraduate

India is home to one-sixth of the world’s population. It is the world’s largest democracy and one of its biggest economies. Since gaining independence from colonial rule in 1947, India has made important strides in reducing poverty, expanding public services, and boosting literacy, public health, and public infrastructure. India, however, presents a range of serious governance and development challenges. Its public institutions are often described as unresponsive to citizen needs, in part due to shortcomings in representation and capacity. Stubborn inequalities persist across ethnic and gender lines, fragmenting economic opportunity and political voice. Cities in India are rapidly growing without adequate planning. As a consequence, millions of people reside in India’s urban slums, defined by their informality and lack of access to basic public services. Climate change shocks—heat waves, flooding, drought—are expected to increase in frequency and severity, hampering development. Air pollution is causing alarming health crises and inadequate waste management is contaminating soil and water. The guiding objective of this course is for students to gain a deep understanding of political trends in post-1947 India. To situate the course’s material in larger theoretical frameworks, we will concurrently examine several major themes in comparative politics, including democratization, federalism, decentralization, electoral politics, ethnic conflict, gender, environmental politics, and the political economy of development. Therefore, in addition to area studies knowledge, students will build further expertise in comparative politics. Students will be expected to demonstrate effective writing, rigorous analytical thinking, and conceptual precision. T 9:25am-11:20am