
Agitation to Legislation
Negotiating Equity and Justice in India
Zoya Hasan(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 19. July 2018
Book
Hardback
280 pages
978-0-19-948217-7 (ISBN)
Description
The book examines (1) the relationship between political mobilization and the making of policy/ to grant socio-economic rights (2) the creation of institutions and (3) representation in public institutions i.e. legislatures. It investigates the relationship of political mobilization, party strategies and policy change to understand how campaigns and agitations organized by actors outside traditional electoral networks interact with established political actors to influence the making of social policy and legislations in India in the broader frame of democratic politics.
The central question is in what circumstances is social and political mobilization to claim rights and entitlements or the demand for accountability or greater representation in legislatures responded to and addressed to by the state. This is done through an analusis of three empirical cases: (1) Right to employment and Right to food; (2) The anti-corruption or Lokpal or movement, (3) Legislative reservations for women. All but one resulted in legislation. These three cases cover recurring themes in the sphere of political mobilization and the claims they make for redistribution, accountability and representation.
By focusing on political actors and processes that shape various legislations to expand rights, accountability and representation, the book argues that it is principally the political context, party processes and leadership strategies that influenced policy decisions of the government. Taken together, the arguments advanced here underlines the social and political implications of situations where both state and mobilization campaigns are the agents and loci of dominance, resistance, and critique. Outcomes are contingent on political responses and party strategies which are an important element of the underlying dynamics, and not merely the scale and intensity of public protest and collective action.
The central question is in what circumstances is social and political mobilization to claim rights and entitlements or the demand for accountability or greater representation in legislatures responded to and addressed to by the state. This is done through an analusis of three empirical cases: (1) Right to employment and Right to food; (2) The anti-corruption or Lokpal or movement, (3) Legislative reservations for women. All but one resulted in legislation. These three cases cover recurring themes in the sphere of political mobilization and the claims they make for redistribution, accountability and representation.
By focusing on political actors and processes that shape various legislations to expand rights, accountability and representation, the book argues that it is principally the political context, party processes and leadership strategies that influenced policy decisions of the government. Taken together, the arguments advanced here underlines the social and political implications of situations where both state and mobilization campaigns are the agents and loci of dominance, resistance, and critique. Outcomes are contingent on political responses and party strategies which are an important element of the underlying dynamics, and not merely the scale and intensity of public protest and collective action.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
NA
Dimensions
Height: 225 mm
Width: 148 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
328 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-948217-7 (9780199482177)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
One of India's leading political scientists, Hasan recently retired from her professorship in the Centre for Political Studies at JNU, where she served for many years, and where she now has Emerita status; she has also served as Dean of the School Social Sciences at JNU and as Chair of the Gender Studies program at JNU. She is a former member of the National Commission for Minorities. Hasan is the author/editor of 18 books, including most recently Congress After
Indira: Policy, Power, Political Change (1984-2009) and Politics of Inclusion: Caste, Minority and Affirmative Action. A collection of her essays titled Democracy and the Crisis of Inequality was
published in 2014.
Indira: Policy, Power, Political Change (1984-2009) and Politics of Inclusion: Caste, Minority and Affirmative Action. A collection of her essays titled Democracy and the Crisis of Inequality was
published in 2014.
Author
Former ProfessorFormer Professor, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Content
Acknowledgements
List of Abreviations
Introduction
1. Social Activism, Political Processes, and Rights Legislation
2. Anti-Corruption Campaign and the Politics of the Lokpal
3. Mass Mobilization and Opposition to Gender Quotas in Legislature
Conclusion
Index
About the Author
List of Abreviations
Introduction
1. Social Activism, Political Processes, and Rights Legislation
2. Anti-Corruption Campaign and the Politics of the Lokpal
3. Mass Mobilization and Opposition to Gender Quotas in Legislature
Conclusion
Index
About the Author