The Indian Constitution is one of the world's longest and most important political texts. Its birth, over six decades ago, signalled the arrival of the first major post-colonial constitution and the world's largest and arguably most daring democratic experiment. Apart from greater domestic focus on the Constitution and the institutional role of the Supreme Court within India's democratic framework, recent years have also witnessed enormous comparative interest in India's constitutional experiment. The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution is a wide-ranging, analytical reflection on the major themes and debates that surround India's Constitution. The Handbook provides a comprehensive account of the developments and doctrinal features of India's Constitution, as well as articulating frameworks and methodological approaches through which studies of Indian constitutionalism, and constitutionalism more generally, might proceed. Its contributions range from rigorous, legal studies of provisions within the text to reflections upon historical trends and social practices. As such the Handbook is an essential reference point not merely for Indian and comparative constitutional scholars, but for students of Indian democracy more generally.

"India faces a defining period. Its status as a global power is not only recognized but increasingly institutionalized, even as geopolitical shifts create both opportunities and challenges. With critical interests in almost every multilateral regime and vital stakes in emerging ones, India has no choice but to influence the evolving multilateral order. If India seeks to affect the multilateral order, how will it do so? In the past, it had little choice but to be content with rule taking-adhering to existing international norms and institutions. Will it now focus on rule breaking-challenging the present order primarily for effect and seeking greater accommodation in existing institutions? Or will it focus on rule shaping-contributing in partnership with others to shape emerging norms and regimes, particularly on energy, food, climate, oceans, and cyber security? And how do India's troubled neighborhood, complex domestic politics, and limited capacity inhibit its rule-shaping ability? Despite limitations, India increasingly has the ideas, people, and tools to shape the global order-in the words of Jawaharlal Nehru, ""not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially."" Will India emerge as one of the shapers of the emerging international order? This volume seeks to answer that question. "

The Oxford Companion to Politics in India provides one of the most comprehensive and authoritative overview of Indian politics till date. Incorporating the best social science knowledge available on the developments in Indian politics, it provides a methodical exposition of how such issues are best understood. The contributors-top political scientists from across the world-interweave analytical perspectives with existing influential scholarship to provide a rich narrative of the subjects covered.
The volume has been thematically organized in seven parts. It begins with a survey of the basic institutional framework of politics like Indian Constitution, Parliament, federalism, local governance, and the Indian party system from 1952 to 2009. The essays also examine how non-political institutions like the Supreme Court of India and Election Commission have shaped Indian politics. They discuss social cleavages like class, caste, and gender as well as regional and religious diversities that create identities and mould politics in various ways. The companion further examines the political processes through political parties and their performance in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, political mobilization, alliances, and political leadership. Ideological contestations like nationalism, secularism, political representation, and social justice have also been explored in detail. Highlighting the linkages between social movements and civil society, a section looks into issues related with farmers' movements, women movements, and the role of NGOs in Indian politics. In addition, the volume investigates economic transformations in the country through an analysis of politics, political economy, government accountability, political economy as well as India's external and defence policies. It concludes with a discussion on various ways of looking at Indian politics.