This book discusses the forms and dynamics of political processes in rural India with a special emphasis on West Bengal the nation’s fourth-most populous state. West Bengal’s political distinction stems from its long legacy of a Left-led coalition government for more than thirty years and its land reform initiatives. The book closely looks at how people from different castes religions and genders represent themselves in local governments political parties and in the social movements in West Bengal. At the same time it addresses some important questions: Is there any new pattern of politics emerging at the margins? How does this pattern of politics correspond with the current discourse of governance? Using ethnographic techniques it claims to chart new territories by not only examining how rural people see the state but also conceiving the context by comparing the available theoretical frameworks put forward to explain the political dynamics of rural India.

Introduction -- Land, development and politics in West Bengal -- Kalipur and Kadampur : changing landscape of two villages in West Bengal -- Seeing the state and governance in the grassroots -- Party and politics at the margin -- A narrative of peasant resistance : land, party and the state -- Caste and power in rural context -- Women and caste : in struggle and in governance.

"Examines the everyday politics of rural India and tries to validate the analytical frameworks available for studying the social and political phenomena"--Provided by publisher.