India's Power Elite is a study of the nature of power and elitism in postcolonial India. Its point of departure is the political transition under way in twenty-first-century India, with the marginalization of the Congress Party and the staging of a cultural revolution symbolized by the rise of Hindu majoritarianism. Baru deconstructs the morphology of the Indian power elite-comprising remnants of a feudal gentry, kulaks, a metropolitan business class, the civil services and a cultural elite of opinion-makers. He also examines the role of caste, class and culture in the emergence of a 'New India'. Aimed at the socially engaged reader, this book will interest both students as well as those who wield power.
About the Author
SANJAYA BARU is a policy analyst, writer and columnist. He has served as the editor of the Economic Times, the Financial Express and Business Standard, and the editorial-page editor of the Times of India and the Indian Express. He was the media adviser to former prime minister Manmohan Singh and the director for geo-economics and strategy, International Institute of Strategic Studies, London. He has taught at the University of Hyderabad; Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore; and the Indian School of Public Policy, New Delhi. His books include The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh , Strategic Consequences of India's Economic Performance and1991: How P.V. Narasimha Rao Made History .
