Power and Politics in Contemporary India: A Sociological Course | IIT Roorkee
Course Details
| Exam Registration | 115 |
|---|---|
| Course Status | Ongoing |
| Course Type | Elective |
| Language | English |
| Duration | 12 weeks |
| Categories | Humanities and Social Sciences, Sociology |
| Credit Points | 3 |
| Level | Undergraduate/Postgraduate |
| Start Date | 19 Jan 2026 |
| End Date | 10 Apr 2026 |
| Enrollment Ends | 02 Feb 2026 |
| Exam Registration Ends | 20 Feb 2026 |
| Exam Date | 25 Apr 2026 IST |
| NCrF Level | 4.5 — 8.0 |
Power and Politics in Contemporary India: A Sociological View
How does power truly operate in the world's largest democracy? Beyond the headlines of elections and party politics lies a complex web of social forces, historical legacies, and everyday negotiations that shape political life in India. The course Power and Politics in Contemporary India: A Sociological View, offered by Prof. Lalatendu Keshari Das of IIT Roorkee, provides a critical lens to understand this intricate landscape.
This 12-week undergraduate/postgraduate course moves beyond conventional political science to explore how power is embedded in social institutions, cultural practices, and economic structures. It equips learners with the conceptual tools to analyze the dynamic relationship between state and society in contemporary India.
Course Overview and Objectives
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to political sociology through the lens of India’s complex social fabric. It examines how power operates across formal institutions, communities, and the minutiae of daily life, investigating how citizens negotiate authority, inequality, and representation.
The curriculum bridges foundational sociological theories with pressing Indian realities. Students will engage with thinkers like Marx, Weber, Gramsci, Bourdieu, and Foucault, applying their ideas to understand caste politics, gender dynamics, nationalism, development projects, and social movements. The course is designed not just to inform but to cultivate a critical perspective on the diverse forms of power that shape experience in India today.
Who Should Enroll?
This course is intellectually rigorous yet accessible, designed for a broad audience seeking a deeper understanding of Indian society and polity.
- Students of Sociology, Political Science, Development Studies, and Gender Studies.
- Civil Service Aspirants (UPSC, State PSCs) looking to build a robust conceptual foundation in Indian society and governance.
- Professionals in the development sector (NGOs, INGOs).
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) professionals in public and private sector units who need to understand the social context of their interventions.
Detailed 12-Week Course Layout
The course is meticulously structured to build knowledge from foundational concepts to complex contemporary applications.
| Week | Core Theme | Key Topics Covered |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Foundations of Power | Classical theories (Marx, Weber), modern thinkers (Gramsci, Foucault, Bourdieu, Lukes), and Ranajit Guha's concept of dominance without hegemony. |
| 3-4 | State, Nation, and Citizenship | Postcolonial state formation, debates on Indian democracy (Kaviraj, Bardhan, Chatterjee), and theories of nationalism and citizenship. |
| 5-6 | Caste, Class, and Political Economy | The political articulation of caste and kinship, Dalit-Bahujan assertion, agrarian change, urban informality, and labor politics. |
| 7-8 | Identity, Difference, and Mobilization | Sociology of communalism, ethnicity, subnationalism, and theories of social movements with Indian case studies like Chipko. |
| 9-10 | Governance, Development, and Law | Neoliberal governance, the NGO-state, welfare, legal pluralism, judicial activism, and case studies like Kudumbashree. |
| 11-12 | Culture, Media, and Rethinking the Political | Media and political culture, everyday politics, gender, decolonizing sociology, and final synthesis. |
Key Themes and Indian Case Studies
The course stands out for its direct engagement with Indian scholarship and ground-level realities. Key thematic explorations include:
- Caste and Democracy: Analyzing the transition of caste from a system of hierarchy to a potent axis of political mobilization and Dalit-Bahujan assertion.
- Postcolonial State Formation: Critiquing the nature of the Indian state through ideas of passive revolution and the differentiation between civil and political society.
- Development and Governance: Examining the shift from government to governance, the role of NGOs, and the micropolitics of development programs.
- Subaltern Politics: Focusing on the movements and political strategies of Adivasi communities, informal workers, and other marginalized groups.
- Law and Society: Understanding judicial activism, Public Interest Litigation (PIL), and the courtroom as a site of social negotiation.
Essential Reading and Resources
The course draws on a rich body of literature that blends global theory with Indian specificity. Essential texts include:
- Partha Chatterjee’s The Nation and Its Fragments
- Ranajit Guha’s Dominance without Hegemony
- Steven Lukes’ Power: A Radical View
- Rina Agarwala’s work on informal labor
- Nicolas Dirks’ Castes of Mind
- James Scott’s Domination and the Arts of Resistance
These readings provide the theoretical and empirical backbone for the weekly modules.
Why This Course Matters Now
In an era of rapid social change, deepening political polarization, and evolving forms of civic engagement, a sociological understanding of power is indispensable. This course is more than an academic pursuit; it is a toolkit for critically engaging with the world.
For the civil service aspirant, it provides the analytical depth needed for the exam and future governance. For the development professional, it offers insights into the complexities of community engagement. For the student, it builds a formidable framework for understanding one of the world's most dynamic societies.
Power and Politics in Contemporary India: A Sociological View invites you to look beneath the surface of political events and discover the enduring social structures, cultural contests, and hidden transcripts that truly define power in India.
Enroll Now →