Now available in paperback, the Routledge Handbook of South Asian Politics examines key issues in politics of the five independent states of the South Asian region: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Written by experts in their respective areas, this Handbook introduces the reader to the politics of South Asia by presenting the prevailing agreements and disagreements in the literature.

In the first two sections, the Handbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the modern political history of the states of the region and an overview of the independence movements in the former colonial states. The other sections focus on the political changes that have occurred in the postcolonial states since independence, as well as the successive political changes in Nepal during the same period, and the structure and functioning of the main governmental and non-governmental institutions, including the structure of the state itself (unitary or federal), political parties, the judiciary, and the military. Further, the contributors explore several aspects of the political process and political and economic change, especially issues of pluralism and national integration, political economy, corruption and criminalization of politics, radical and violent political movements, and the international politics of the region as a whole.

This unique reference work provides a comprehensive survey of the state of the field and is an invaluable resource for students and academics interested in South Asian Studies, South Asian Politics, Comparative Politics and International Relations.

Now available in paperback, the Routledge Handbook of South Asian Politics examines key issues in politics of the five independent states of the South Asian region: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Written by experts in their respective areas, it introduces the reader to the politics of South Asia by presenting the prevailing agreements and disagreements in the literature.

1. Introduction Paul R. Brass  Part 1 Colonialism, Nationalism, and Independence in South Asia: India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka  1. India and Pakistan Ian Talbot  2. Sri Lanka’s Independence: Shadows Over a Colonial Graft Nira Wickramasinghe  Part 2 Political Change, Political Parties, and the Issue of Unitary vs. Federal Forms of Government  3. Political Change, Political Structure and the Indian State Since Independence John Harriss  4. Parties and Politics in India Virginia Van Dyke
5. Pakistan’s Politics and Its Economy Shahid Javed Burki  6. Party Overinstitutionalization, Contestation and Democratic Degradation in Bangladesh Harry Blair  7. Politics and Governance in Post-Independence Sri Lanka Neil DeVotta
8. Trajectories of Democracy and Restructuring of the State in Nepal Krishna Hachhethu and David N. Gellner  Federalism and Centre-State Relations
9. The Old and the New Federalism in Independent India Lloyd I. Rudolph and Susanne Hoeber Rudolph  Part 3 The Judiciary  10. India’s Judiciary: Imperium in Imperio? Shylashri Shankar  11. Balancing Act: Prudence, Impunity and Pakistan’s Jurisprudence Paula R. Newberg  12. Confronting Constitutional Curtailments: Attempts to Rebuild Independence of the Judiciary in Bangladesh Sara Hossein and Tanjib-ul Alam
13. Executive Sovereignty: The Judiciary in Sri Lanka Shylashri Shankar  Part 4 Pluralism and National Integration: Language Issues  14. Politics of Language in India E. Annamalai  15. Language Problems and Politics in Pakistan Tariq Rahman  Part 5 Crises of National Unity  16. Crises of National Unity in India: Punjab, Kashmir and the Northeast Gurharpal Singh  17. Communal and Caste Politics and Conflicts in India Steven I. Wilkinson  18. Ethnic and Islamic Militancy in Pakistan Mohammad Waseem  19. Ethnic Conflict and the Civil War in Sri Lanka Jayadeva Uyangoda  Part 6 Political Economy  India  20. The Political Economy of Development in India Since Independence Stuart Corbridge  21. The Political Economy of Agrarian Change in India Jan Breman  Sri Lanka  22. Economic Development and Socio-Political Change in Sri Lanka since Independence W. D. Lakshman  Part 7 Comparative Chapters  23. The Militaries of South Asia Stephen P. Cohen  24. Corruption and the Criminalization of Politics in South Asia Stanley A. Kochanek  25. Radical and Violent Political Movements Sumanta Banerjee  26. The International Politics of South Asia Vernon Hewitt  Bibliography