Deepening Democracy: Challenges of Governance and Globalization in India

The volume offers a glimpse of the Licence-Permit-Raid Raj, critiques India’s farm and economic policies, highlights the new divides being created by the country’s language policy, and discusses the causes and possible remedies for ethnic conflicts in India. A common thread running through all the essays is how most of India’s contemporary problems arise out of mal-governance, a choice of inappropriate policies, and a lack of accountability in government. This leads Kishwar to argue that the poor need economic freedom far more urgently then the rich, and builds up a case for a bottom-up agenda of economic reforms. While acknowledging that the current trade regime is biased in favour of powerful industrialized nations, Kishwar points out that if Indian participates actively and intelligently in the WTO, this will open far-reaching opportunities for her agricultural and industrial sectors.