Ideology and Identity

This book will be useful to students and scholars interested in understanding the intellectual lineages of the issues that concern political parties in India today, and the Indian party system. It is well organized and the proofreading is good * Ganeshdatta Poddar, Pacific Affairs *
Contrary to a dominant view of Indian voters as pawns traded by rapacious politicians, Chhibber and Verma permit India's citizens the capacity of reason and intellect. Ideology and Identity is a brave work of political theory bolstered by evidence from archives, opinion surveys, and government data that thrusts the study of Indian politics firmly into the 21st century. * Irfan Nooruddin, Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Indian Politics, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University *
This book's claim that in ethnically hierarchical and lower-income democracies like India, ideology should be viewed as a combination of what the state should do, both in society and economy, and how marginalized communities can be incorporated in the polity, is worthy of serious consideration. The arguments here will spawn many new thoughts, reflections and arguments. * Ashutosh Varshney, Brown University *
This ambitious study makes a provocative argument about Indian politics. But, it also helps explain why elections in the developing world are often less chaotic, corrupt and clientelist than expected. By showing how late state formation leads to meaningful ideological cleavages, Chibber and Verma point to new ways to think about when and why elections show stable patterns in the developing world. * Peter Kingstone, Kings College London *
This book offers an alternative to the standard interpretation of Indian politics in terms of clientelism. It shows that ideology matters, even if it does not fit in the usual right vs left pattern. Besides the rise of Hindu nationalism, the rejection of state intervention in favor of positive discrimination or redistribution bear testimony of this ideological factor. This emphasis on the role of ideas (or prejudice!) refreshingly rehabilitates political culture as a key dimension of Indias public sphere. * Christophe Jaffrelot, CERI,Sciences Po/CNRS *
Chhibber and Verma (both UC Berkeley) present an important case that Indian politics is and has always been quite ideological, despite standard views that it simply rewards various castes... This complex, quantified study invites comparisons with other multi-ethnic societies, and implicitly warns US Democrats against turning too much to "recognition" of marginal groups. The 2019 elections could show if the BJP's combination of Hinduism and markets holds together. * M. G. Roskin, emeritus, Lycoming College, CHOICE *
"Partisan politics is often said to have little to do with ideology in India. Pradeep Chhibber and Rahul Verma's impressive new book is intended to bury this perception, and in the process unpack the role of ideology in Indian politics. This makes it both a remarkable and an original addition to the rapidly accumulating scholarship on India, and as such, one that is required reading for all analysts of Indian politics."-Simon Chauchard, Perspective on Politics