Ethnicity and populist mobilization: political parties, citizens and democracy in South India

Abstract

This book examines how the interactions of party and society continually reshape ethnic identities and redirect ethnic politics. It is the first comprehensive study in two decades which explores the activities of the Dravidian parties of South India. The author traces the shift of the Dravidian parties through the course of the century from an emphasis on heresy to the promotion of tolerance. The book uses methods drawn from political science, sociology and historical anthropology