The Politics of Autonomy
Indian Experiences
Development Studies (General)
- argue that autonomy has to be an essential ingredient in the building of post-colonial democracies, not merely a residual measure to keep some constituencies happy;
- draw attention to the contending principles of autonomy, the consequent politics of autonomies, the inescapable co-existence of autonomies, and the need for dialogue; and
- analyze the instructive Indian politico-historical experience because of its diversity and range, the extent of colonial institutionalization, multiple forms of autonomy, the complex path of constitutionalism, a wide variety of accords, and the unyielding state that is determined to keep the nation intact.
In the process, the contributors traverse a wide range of issues relating to women`s autonomy, peace accords, the nature of federalism in the Indian Constitution, autonomy in international law, and the fiscal decentralization. These debates are then supported by case studies on the autonomy experiments in Kashmir, Darjeeling, and the entire Northeast, and on fiscal devolution.
The essays in the volume deal with diverse issues and are divided in two sections with a lucid introduction by Ranabir Samaddar… provides interesting reading… The volume infers a great deal about the future of Indian democracy and will be useful for scholars of political theory, Indian federalism and ethno-nationalist movements.
[This book] not only provides the descriptive analysis of the autonomy movements in different parts of India but more importantly the body of literature in the volume is theoretically anchored exploring the differing meanings of autonomy and the debates that veer around them.