Associationalism and Democracy in India: An Exploration of Community Identity and Individual Interests in the Bhagalpur City of Bihar

The book is a modest attempt to understand the linkages between associational life and democracy from an Indian perspective. The discourse on associational living and democracy has been looked at largely in the context of western liberal values. The literature with respect to the latter aspect is numerous and also provides valuable theoretical insight and empirical evidences towards the fact that the intermediary associations help enrich democratic values, even though there may be certain instances, which may indicate that this linkage needs to be looked at critically. In this background, the book argues that understanding of associational life under Indian conditions differs fundamentally from those of western societies. The Indian society is not composed of ‘unencumbered selves’. The issue is not that whether India has a strong tradition of associations, and hence vibrant democracy, as per the western liberal standards. The issue is the context of democratisation and inclusion of additional concepts and categories to appreciate the meaning of associativeness and its linkages with democracy.