Raag Darbari, a novel in Hindi written by Shrilal Shukla in 1968, tells an important story of rural India, local politics and administration. Through the use of dark humour and irony, it provides the first critique of the developmental state, its bureaucracy, and the democratic institutions of the country.
Is the novel still relevant? Does it continue to hold a mirror to everyday Indian social life? More importantly, what insights does it offer a student of public administration, development and politics?
This book situates Shrilal Shukla’s masterpiece within the social sciences, relating literature to political science, administrative theory and contemporary India. The authors show that it is informal, local institutions that determine the nature of state-directed development, and study whether, five decades later, the citizens of India are visible in our understanding of administration and politics. Have we managed to get local institutions to deliver welfare? Do we know how to handle corruption?
Making a strong case for the invaluable contribution of fiction to the discipline of political science, this exciting book emphasises that if fiction is rooted in a reality that people can relate to, its relevance to the study of politics cannot be ignored.
Satyajit Singh is Professor, Department of Political Science and Department of Global Studies, University of California Santa Barbara.
Abbreviations Figures, Tables and Boxes Glossary Acknowledgements
1. Polity as Fiction, Fiction as Reality Satyajit Singh
2. The Contemporaneity of Raag Darbari Ulka Anjaria
3. Darbari Redux: The Dystopian Roots of Public Communication Vibodh Parthasarathi
4. Politics and Government in the Hindi Heartland: Revisiting Raag Darbari Ashutosh Kumar
5. What Narratives Can Tell Us about Networks: From the Hierarchies of Village Life to the Costs of Freedom Shailaja Fennell
6. The Folklore of Corruption in Uttar Pradesh Villages, in Fiction and Fieldwork Philip Oldenburg
7. Women, Formal and Informal Institutions of Governance Paroma Ray
8. Adivasi Worldview and Modern Politics Gunjal Ikir Munda
9. The Enduring Relevance of Raag Darbari: Democratic Politics and Bureaucratic Functioning in Uttar Pradesh Sudha Pai
10. Raag Darbari and Governance: Beyond Eurocentrism Satyajit Singh
Notes on the Contributors Index