This talk is based on Professor Manjari Katju’s book, Electoral Practice and the Election Commission of India: Politics, Institutions and Democracy (2023), where she charts the trajectory of electoral practices in India and the regulatory role of the Election Commission between 1990 (the year just before the 10th parliamentary elections of 1991) and 2019 (the year of the 17th parliamentary elections). She argues that, as a constitutional institution, the Election Commission plays a crucial role in the democratic process through its work of conducting elections in India. Today, when Indian democracy witnesses challenges like designs of ‘othering’, ethno-dominance, and curbs on dissent, it is important that the Election Commission maintains its position as a guardian of free and fair elections and is not seen as partisan. Professor Katju discusses the Election Commission’s evolution as an institution and its contemporary orientation in the rough and tumble of Indian politics.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Professor Manjari Katju
Professor Manjari Katju is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Hyderabad, where she teaches courses on Indian and Comparative Politics. She has authored the books Electoral Practice and the Election Commission of India: Politics, Institutions and Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2023), Hinduising Democracy: The Vishva Hindu Parishad in Contemporary India (New Text, 2017) and Vishva Hindu Parishad and Indian Politics (Orient Longman, 2003). She has researched and written widely on themes of Hindu nationalism, democracy, elections and state institutions.
