Culture and Politics

The Politics of Cultural Mobilisation in India edited by John Zavos, Andrew Wyatt and Veron Hewitt; Oxford University Press, New Delhi,
USHA THAKKAR Issues of culture and identity have acquired critical importance in postindependent India mainly due to constant interaction between newly established democratic institutions and centuries-old cultural and social traditions. Emergence of coalitional politics with the decline of single party dominance, subsequent regional and local political formations, rise of Hindu nationalism and political mobilisation of people around cultural symbols and identities now do not seem to be issues of ephemeral nature. The issues of politics and culture have come to dominate actual politics as well as theoretical debates. An understanding of the contemporary India cannot be complete without an understanding of the relation between culture and politics. This book is of immense value, as it helps us in this formidable task. Papers in the book attempt to investigate the relationship between the cultural incursions as well as the incursions of regional and local politics in the narrower sense of elections and coalitions, and draw our attention to the need to rethink the relationship between politics and culture.