The Emergence of the Indian States as the Center of Indian Politics

Professor Sandeep Shastri
Director, International Academy for Creative Teaching, Bangalore, India and National Coordinator, Lokniti Network, India

Monday, September 29, 2008, 3:30 p.m.

Center for India Studies
E 5350, Melville Library
Stony Brook

The last two decades in the unfolding of India’s democratic politics has been witness to the clear presence of the Indian states at the center-stage of Indian politics. This transformation has been orchestrated by a series of fundamental social and political changes that have been witnessed in the system. A classic example of this `new politics` is the nature of verdict in the last national elections 2004 and the trends that are clearly evident in the run up to the 2009 elections. Commentators are increasingly asserting that a national poll can best be explained in terms of the specific political dynamics of the twenty eight states that constitute the Indian union.

The presentation will draw on election survey data to explain this trend and provide a framework for the analysis of India’s electoral politics.

Dr Sandeep Shastri is an political scientist and election analyst. He is the Director of the International Academy for Creative Teaching (iACT), Bangalore, and the National Coordinator of the Lokniti Network , a group of scholars involved in Survey based Election Studies in India. From 1984 to 2002, he was on the Political Science Faculty, Bangalore University. He has been a visiting Adjunct Professor at the University of California at Berkeley and at the University of Central Oklahoma. He is author of 4 Books, 30 articles in edited books and 60 articles in refereed research journals, besides popular writings in newspapers and magazines . He is associated with several prestigious international research bodies in the field of election studies and survey research. He is the India representative on the Global Comparative Study of Election Systems Network and coordinates the India survey component of the World Values Survey. Dr Shastri has lectured extensively across the world and spoken at Universities in more than 20 countries.

All are welcome

Note: As seating capacity is limited please contact the Center to advise of your attendance.