Business and Politics in India (Modern South Asia)

Over the last few decades, politics in India has moved steadily in a probusiness direction. The probusiness shift in India has important implications for both how the world’s largest democracy is governed and for the life-chances of the citizens of that democracy. This volume analyzes the growing power of business groups in the Indian polity. It pursues four research issues aimed at focusing attention on the growing role of business in Indian politics. First, it assesses the power of business groups within India: has the power of business in India achieved a nearly hegemonic status? Second, whether business power is becoming hegemonic or not, how do business groups mold Indian politics? Third, the volume seeks to understand how the power of business groups in India varies along several critical issue areas such as land acquisition, labor, media, and urban governance. Fourth, given India’s regional diversity, it seeks to understand the varying political role of business groups in select Indian states. Introduction / Christophe Jaffrelot, Atul Kohli and Kanta Murali -- Power of business in contemporary India -- Economic liberalization and the structural power of business in India / Kanta Murali -- India's new porous state : blurred boundaries and the evolving business-state relationship / Aseema Sinha -- Business power across issue areas -- The politics of India's reformed labor model / Rina Agarwala -- Business interests, the state, and the politics of land policy in India / Rob Jenkins -- Cabal city : India's urban regimes and accumulation without development / Patrick Heller, Partha Mukhopadhyay and Michael Walton -- Media in contemporary India : journalism transformed into a commodity / C. Rammanohar Reddy -- Regional experiences -- Business-friendly Gujarat in 2000s: the implications of a new political economy / Christophe Jaffrelot -- Business and politics: the Tamil Nadu puzzle / John Harriss and Andrew Wyatt -- Business and state in Odisha's extractive economy / Sunila Kale -- Conclusion / Christophe Jaffrelot, Atul Kohli and Kanta Murali. Over the last few decades, politics in India has moved steadily in a pro-business direction. This shift has important implications for both government and citizens. In Business and Politics in India, leading scholars of Indian politics have gathered to offer an analytical synthesis of this vast topic. Collectively, they cover the many strategies that businesses have used to exert their newfound power in recent times and organize the book around a few central concerns. They first analyze the nature of business power and how it shapes political change in India. Second, they look at the consequences of business' growing power on some important issue areas-labor, land, urban governance, and the media. Finally, they take account of regional variation and analyze state-business relations. This definitive account offers significant insights into how and why corporations have increased their power in contemporary Indian politics. Cover 1 Series 3 Business and Politics in India 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 List of Contributors 10 1. Introduction 14 Part I 36 2. Economic Liberalization and the Structural Power of Business 38 3. India’s Porous State: Blurred Boundaries and the Evolving Business-​State Relationship 63 Part II 106 4. The Politics of India’s Reformed Labor Model 108 5. Business Interests, the State, and the Politics of Land Policy 137 6. Cabal City: Urban Regimes and Accumulation without Development 164 7. Media in Contemporary India: Journalism Transformed into a Commodity 196 Part III 222 8. Business-​Friendly Gujarat Under Narendra Modi: The Implications of a New Political Economy 224 9. Business and Politics: The Tamil Nadu Puzzle 247 10. Business and State in Odisha’s Extractive Economy 273 11. Conclusion 295 Index 332 Over the last few decades, politics in India has moved steadily in a pro-business direction. This volume analyzes the growing power of business groups in India and the consequences of this process on key issue areas. The questions and concerns analyzed in this volume have both normative and scholarly significance.