How do the liberal-democratic, Marxist, Gandhian and Hindutva theorization of Indian politics differ from one another? How have those differences been explored by Indian and/or India-oriented social and political theorists? These are the central questions addressed by Professor Thomas Pantham in this comprehensive survey of the literature on the major political theories relating to the restructuring of Indian society.

One of the main features of the book critical survey of the outgoing and prolific debate between the nationalist-Marxist and subaltern-Marxist schools of India historiography concerning the politics of social transformation in colonial and postcolonial India. Another distinctive feature is the comparative analysis of the Gandhian and Hindutva conceptions of political order in a context of socio-religious pluralism and democratization.

The author also provides an extended examination of the different liberal models of democracy and social and economic development.