A new book co-edited by James Madison College Associate Professor Sejuti Das Gupta examines why widening political representation in India has coincided with deepening economic inequality.
Contradictions of Democracy, Development and Inequality, published by Routledge, brings together economists, political scientists, sociologists and geographers to explore a paradox of contemporary democracies: despite increased representation for historically marginalized groups based on caste, gender and religion, inequality has intensified and these groups have experienced increased marginalization due to growing economic inequality. In other words, they gained political power but lost economic power.
The volume emerged as a tribute to Caesar Basu, a dear friend and mentor of Das Gupta’s who passed away from cancer in his early 40s. They met at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where Basu started his master’s after taking time away from university to read philosophy texts in their original languages.
Das Gupta and her colleagues quickly discovered that Basu was someone who would spend hours in conversation, contributing meaningfully to everyone’s research and research interests while never dominating the discussion. He followed the Socratic method of argumentation to put his points across, while paying full attention to other’s argument.
"He was truly someone who was committed in people in a way that was truly rare," explained Das Gupta, "and so in a polarized world he was someone people from various interests, political beliefs and identities would gravitate to for his undivided attention and empathy."
When Basu passed away, his family, friends and colleagues first explored the possibility of publishing his M.Phil thesis, then developed the idea of incorporating his work into a larger volume.
Das Gupta and co-editors Taposik Banerjee and Shouvik Chakraborty spent five years coordinating contributions from colleagues whose research Basu had contributed to through his generous intellectual exchange — "‘adda over chai’ as we call them," said Das Gupta. "This book is therefore a deeply personal project for me, a way to thank Caesar for those countless hours of conversation as much as a professional endeavor to recognize his work."
The book’s four-section structure emerged organically from the contributions rather than from a predetermined framework. Das Gupta, Banerjee and Chakraborty identified gaps as chapters arrived and recruited additional scholars to fill them, prioritizing contributors who had known Basu personally.
One section examines democracy and social movements, another focuses on development and inequality, a third explores natural resources and access, and the fourth analyzes identity politics.
The volume reflects Basu’s commitment to conversations across intellectual traditions, Das Gupta explained. Trained in political science but widely read in philosophy and heterodox political economy, Basu wanted scholars from different schools of thought to engage with the complexity of contemporary India rather than remaining siloed within disciplines.
The central argument of the volume challenges the assumption that political representation alone addresses marginalization. Since India’s economic liberalization in 1991, democracy has incorporated more voices from historically excluded groups — lower castes, religious minorities, women — yet those same communities have lost ground economically even as they gained political visibility.
“If representation was to solve the problem of marginalization and oppression of cultural groups, then why has wider representation not led to allocation of more resources to people from those groups?” Das Gupta said. “That means you need a more interdisciplinary frame to think about social justice."
Contributors examine this contradiction through a variety of contexts: neoliberalism and women’s labor, agricultural policies and farmer livelihoods, climate change adaptation among livestock holders, water privatization, caste discrimination, Muslim marginalization and indigenous movements. Together the chapters argue that understanding power requires attention to both cultural recognition and economic redistribution.
Das Gupta’s own intellectual journey shaped her approach to the project. She and Basu both came from Bengal, where the Communist Party of Marxist origins governed for two and a half decades and class was central to political discourse. When they arrived at JNU New Delhi, they encountered politics organized around caste and religious identity rather than economic class.
“We came from this worldview where class was very important, then we came to Delhi and saw that caste is very important, religion is very important, and they create divisions,” Das Gupta explained. The experience prompted Basu to think about creating conversations between different analytical frameworks to understand the world and to change it. In that sense, Basu remained a Marxist at heart always concerned about praxis.
The book argues that solving inequality in India requires addressing both cultural and economic dimensions and that political representation without redistribution hasn’t closed economic gaps. However it acknowledges, many fights are cultural and those need to be fought for the sake of inclusion in democracies. The contributors maintain that real progress demands attention to both.
Das Gupta teaches courses on comparative politics, political economy and political theories at JMC, and her research examines agrarian politics, identity and development policy in India. Her previous book, Class, Politics and Agrarian Policies in Post Liberalisation India, was published by Cambridge University Press.
Contradictions of Democracy, Development and Inequality is available through Routledge.