A comprehensive study of the major political, cultural and economic changes in India since gaining independence.

List of figures and tables; Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction: continuities and discontinuities between pre- and post-Independence India; Part I. Political Change: Introduction; 2. Political change, political structure and the functioning of government; 3. Parties and politics; 4. State and local politics; Part II. Pluralism and National Integration: Introduction; 5. Language problems; 6. Crises of national unity: Punjab, the northeast and Kashmir; 7. Communal and caste conflict: secularism, Hindu nationalism and the Indian state; Part III. Political Economy: Introduction; 8. Politics, economic development and social change; 9. Political aspects of agricultural change; 10. Conclusion: problems and prospects; Bibliography; Index.