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For a Just Republic - by Partha Chatterjee - 1 of 1

For a Just Republic - by Partha Chatterjee (Hardcover)

$140.99

FormatHardcover

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Highlights

  • From the forging of a constitution for the postindependence republic to the reign of Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party today, the idea of India as a nation-state has predominated.
  • About the Author: Partha Chatterjee is professor emeritus of anthropology and of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies at Columbia University and honorary professor of political science at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta.
  • 496 Pages
  • History, Asia

Description



About the Book



In this magisterial account of Indian politics over the past seventy-five years, the renowned scholar Partha Chatterjee challenges common notions of "state" and "nation," arguing for a more capacious understanding of "the people."



Book Synopsis



From the forging of a constitution for the postindependence republic to the reign of Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party today, the idea of India as a nation-state has predominated. Yet the country encompasses a vast diversity of communities, regions, languages, and cultures, calling into question any unitary identity.

In this magisterial account of Indian politics over the past seventy-five years, the renowned scholar Partha Chatterjee challenges common notions of "state" and "nation," arguing for a more capacious understanding of "the people." He examines the varying trajectories of the Indian nation-state, as opposed to what he calls the "people-nation," analyzing the complex connections between the two. Chatterjee offers a persuasive political-economic analysis of the transition from the time of developmental planning to the present era of capitalist dominance. He combines keen analysis of changing caste-class-gender formations in the country's diverse regions with a close examination of the uneven spread of India's capitalist economy.

By looking beyond the nation-state, this book unveils many hidden aspects of Indian politics today--and makes a powerful case for a future in which the federal system respects the equal worth of each part of the country.



Review Quotes




For a Just Republic is a summa that opens up a new world of just politics for the people-nation. Partha Chatterjee, the preeminent theorist of nation, offers a profound rethinking of democratic practice, with a vision of a just coalition politics stretching across region, language, culture, and even history. A theoretical and analytical masterpiece.--Manan Ahmed Asif, professor of history, Columbia University

For a Just Republic is another brilliant chapter in Chatterjee's exemplary political anatomy of India. Sovereign, centrist powers of the nation-state, he argues, ride roughshod over the regional rights of the nation-people whose "vernacular" lifeworlds resist being subjected to a homogenous and hortatory "idea" of India. This classic work of political philology touches the raw nerve of India's dilemmas today, and yesterday: Are Indians fated to choose between "soft Hindutva and hard Hindutva"? Must "the largest democracy in the world" suffer long cycles of authoritarian misrule?--Homi Bhabha, Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University

[For a Just Republic] combines huge breadth, striking analytical sharpness and a sustained focus on an absolutely key question in the politics of modern India and federal states across the world. In the present moment, it is a book that scholars and the serious general reader alike will want to reach for and to read.--Rosalind O'Hanlon, professor emeritus of Indian history and culture, University of Oxford, Scroll

This is a pathbreaking contribution to understanding Indian politics. Chatterjee's innovative ideas, including his account of the regionally diverse imaginings of the nation expressed in local print languages, will have major implications for rethinking Indian nationalism, the "idea of India," Indian federalism, minority rights, and many other crucial topics.--Pranab Bardhan, distinguished professor emeritus of economics, University of California, Berkeley

For a Just Republic is a book that arrives at a moment of crisis and speaks directly to it. It insists that another India -- more just, more attentive to its own plurality -- remains possible. Whether we have the political will to build it is another matter entirely.--Amritesh Mukherjee "The Telegraph"

Partha Chatterjee's new book will change the way we study Indian politics.... You cannot now write about Indian politics without reference to For a Just Republic. You cannot ask questions about Indian politics without keeping Chatterjee at the back of your mind. That is the hallmark of a great book.--Yogendra Yadav "The Indian Express"

This book is a striking example of Partha Chatterjee's inspiring style of building theory through granular histories and elements of contemporary politics.--Nivedita Menon "The Wire"



About the Author



Partha Chatterjee is professor emeritus of anthropology and of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies at Columbia University and honorary professor of political science at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta. His recent books include I Am the People: Reflections on Popular Sovereignty Today (Columbia, 2019).
Dimensions (Overall): 8.5 Inches (H) x 5.5 Inches (W) x 1.25 Inches (D)
Weight: 1.59 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 496
Genre: History
Sub-Genre: Asia
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Theme: South
Format: Hardcover
Author: Partha Chatterjee
Language: English
Street Date: May 5, 2026
TCIN: 1011299993
UPC: 9780231224277
Item Number (DPCI): 247-48-6159
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
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Estimated ship dimensions: 1.25 inches length x 5.5 inches width x 8.5 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 1.59 pounds
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