Ideology and Identity The Changing Party Systems of India

Indian party politics, commonly viewed as chaotic, clientelistic, and corrupt, is nevertheless a model for deepening democracy and accommodating diversity. Historically, though, observers have argued that Indian politics is non-ideological in nature. In contrast, Pradeep Chhibber and Rahul Verma contend that the Western European paradigm of "ideology" is not applicable to many contemporary multiethnic countries. In these more diverse states, the most important ideological debates center on statism-the extent to which the state should dominate and regulate society-and recognition-whether and how the state should accommodate various marginalized groups and protect minority rights from majorities. Using survey data from the Indian National Election Studies and evidence from the Constituent Assembly debates, they show how education, the media, and religious practice transmit the competing ideas that lie at the heart of ideological debates in India.

Pradeep K. Chhibber is Professor of Political Science and Indo-American Community Chair for India Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He has published widely on the party politics of India, party systems, and religion and politics.

Rahul Verma is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. His PhD dissertation focuses on the historical roots of elite persistence in contemporary Indian politics. His research interests include voting behavior, party politics and political violence. He also writes regular columns on Indian politics for The Indian Express and The Hindu.