Why Indians vote : reflections on rights, citizenship, and democracy from a Tamil Nadu village

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)



Description :
Based on a study of voting in a rural constituency in rural Tamil Nadu during the 2009 national elections, the paper explores the variety of motivations that compel people to vote. It explores how voting is informed by popular understandings of rights and duties as citizens, programmatic policies and their local implementation, commitment to caste and party loyalties, and authority of charismatic leaders. It examines the roots of the political consciousness and rights awareness that underpin high levels of electoral participation. It suggests that elections form unique moments that allow ordinary people to experience an individual sense of citizenship and of democracy itself while at the same time allowing them to pursue projects of recognition, respect and assertion as members of communities.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Antipode, issn : 0066-4812, 2014, vol. 46, n°. 4, p. 1032-1053, nombre de pages : 22, Références bibliographiques : 3 p.

Date :
2014

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Oxford, Blackwell