Contemporary India: State Formation and Political Process

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Contemporary India: State Formation and Political Process is basically a collection of essays on different aspects of Indian politics in its post-colonial days. The unique character of the publication lies in the fact that it tries to provide the readers the glimpses of the contemporary issues in Indian politics particularly in regard to state formation and the political process. As it is well known that the movements for state reorganisation in India actually started during the colonial period and acquired new significance in post-independence days with the changing socio political scenario. The changes in the political landscape of the country over the years brought forth many a important issues not only in relation to state reorganisation but also in regard to the over all political process. Keeping in view the changing nature of Indian polity, the volume tries to focus on the problems relating to post-colonial state formation, the emergence of coalition politics; the minority question; gender issues and also the functioning of local government institutions. The twin objective of the publication is to provide the learners with an additional text on the contemporary issues in Indian politics on the one hand; and inspire research on relevant themes on the other. The book may be found very helpful not only for the students of Political Science and different branches of social sciences, but also to the general readers interested in understanding the changing nature of our society and polity.

Dr Debnarayan Modak (b. 1956) is presently Professor of Political Science and Director, School of Social Sciences, Netaji Subhas Open University (NSOU). Kolkata. He had been the Director of the unified School of Humanities & Social Sciences at NSOU for more than five years until recent reorganisation of Schools of Study in June, 2015. Earlier, he taught Political Science at Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, for nearly eighteen years and acted in various capacities there including the Head of the post-graduate department Dr Modak was also engaged in teaching Political Science at Nabadwip Vidyasagar College, Nadia, for almost a decade. He has also served as the Principal at Bethuadahari College, Nadia, for about a year. Besides teaching and administration, Dr Modak has always been very active in undertaking various research initiatives and his aptitude for research is very much evident from his numerous presentations and publications. He has participated and presented papers in different national and international level seminars and conferences; contributed a lot of research articles in learned journals and edited volumes and authored and edited a number of books. Major publications: Dynamics of National Question in India The Communist Approach (1942-64); Rajniti O Bharat Bhabna: Bibidha Prasanga (in Bengali). Edited Volumes Terrorism Concepts and Problems, Open and Distance Learning Future Perspectives (Co-editor Anirban Ghosh), Women in Contemporary India Aspects of Participation and Empowerment (Co-editor Eyasin Khan), Parasmonir Pradip Tomar (A Bilingual Tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th Birth Anniversary)

It is a matter of immense pleasure for us to learn that the volume entitled Contemporary India: State Formation and Political Process, authored by Professor Debnarayan Modak, is now ready for publication. It may be regarded as a breakthrough in a sense as it opens up a new horizon in the process of expansion of the Students' Support Services (SSS) at Netaji Subhas Open University (NSOU) in a different way. Apart from our regular exercise of designing and developing Self-Learning Materials (SLMs) in the printed form as well as the process of creation of e-resources, NSOU has been striving very hard to initiative innovative measures in teaching and research with a dual aim viz. the expansion of our support- mechanism for our learners on the one hand, and the creation of a new kind of academic environment congenial for research and development within the ambit of open learning on the other. The present publication is definitely a step forward in this direction.

As regards the text, it may well be said, as the contents of the volume itself suggests, that it will prove beneficial not only to the learners and counselors of Political Science and allied disciplines, both at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels, of NSOU, but also for the students and teachers of other Universities as well. It may also be found very useful for the researchers and general readers who are interested in understanding the very nature and trends of our society and polity.

Given the dynamism of our society and also of the world at large, the very contours of politics are ever-changing and newer issues are coming up every now and then making those as very relevant not only for our academic pursuits but also for our very existence. As such, with the passage of time, the politics all around has undergone remarkable changes, particularly in the 'global era', and the dynamism involved in the process brought forward many important changes which have serious implications for understanding the very nature of politics in contemporary India. While we are prone to consider some of the changes as 'natural' phenomena, there also occurred multiple changes around us indicating significant departures from existing patterns. As for example, the current policy of economic liberalisation, notwithstanding its obvious advantages, has the proven potential to unleash social tensions, and, as a result, many a newer issues come to the fore both at the regional and national levels. In view of the vast complexity of the processes of change that define contemporary domestic or world situation, although it is very difficult to identify their relative importance, the students, teachers and researchers belonging to the different branches of social sciences and also the serious observers have very little option but to address those, of course, in their own way.

Being an avid follower of the changes all around, some articles were written over the years at the insistence of the students, teachers, colleagues and friends by the present author on different issues pertaining to the changing contours of Indian politics, and those were published in various learned journals and edited volumes from time to time.