In a country where ‘politics’ is treated like a dirty word, are political parties even desirable, or simply something that we tolerate? How does the Constitution shape party politics? And how do parties, in turn, shape the workings of the Constitution? What is wrong with our parties? And what needs to be done to fix them?
The Indian political system seems almost inseparable from political parties. But the original Constitution said nothing about them. Even today, parties occupy an uneasy place. They often manoeuvre, distort, and even subvert constitutional processes. Some might even say that they divide citizens, polarize societies, and seem to undermine individual citizens and their representatives.
And yet, We, the Parties argues, it is precisely this ‘power grab’ by political parties that makes the Indian Constitution meaningful. While the foundational text may have been written in the name of ‘the People’, it is sustained by the parties.
Understanding this labyrinthine relationship between the Indian Constitution, democracy, political parties, and the law is the colossal project that author Aradhya Sethia undertakes in this unique book. Blending history, law and philosophy, Sethia takes readers beyond the headlines to examine the system that underpins all of Indian politics, offering a fresh perspective on the institutions that sustain, challenge and breathe life into India’s constitutional democracy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aradhya Sethia is a practising barrister and writes about constitutionalism. He taught law and completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge. His prize-winning research on political parties and the Indian Constitution has been published in leading journals in the field, and has been cited by the Supreme Court of India and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He was educated at the National Law School, Bangalore, Oxford, and Yale, where he was an Inlaks Scholar and a Fox International Fellow. He divides his time between London and Delhi. www.aradhyasethia.com
ADVANCE PRAISE
‘Speech and silence are forms of expression in the Constitution. Political parties engage daily with the said and the unsaid. Aradhya Sethia’s masterful narration brings this and more to life.’ —Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, former Chief Justice of India
‘Political parties are central to Indian democracy, but they were not mentioned in the original Constitution. Aradhya Sethia takes up the neglected question of their constitutional role and turns it into a compelling inquiry into how power really works. We, the Parties is an intelligent and original intervention in a debate India ought to have had years ago.’—Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, Senior Congress Leader
‘In a time of democratic decay, this insightful and highly readable book makes the compelling and perhaps unfashionable argument that political parties are indispensable to contemporary democracies, including India’s. But it also argues that poorly institutionalized and malfunctioning parties can cause major harm to our democracies. The thoughtful and well-informed suggestions for reform it proposes warrant careful consideration, not only by those concerned about India, but by everyone concerned about the present global malaise of democracy.’—Justice Kate O’Regan, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford and former justice, Constitutional Court of South Africa
‘Misunderstood, misjudged and misused in equal measure, India’s political parties often get a lot of flak for the role they play in India’s democracy. In this original and incisive book, Aradhya Sethia turns those views on their head, arguing that parties, conspicuously absent from the text of the Constitution, are in fact the lifeblood of Indian democracy. Moving effortlessly from their history to their present, he examines what brought them into being, what shaped their behaviour, what ails their functioning and how they can be reformed to the benefit of the country’s democracy—and in doing so, illuminates the inner workings of Indian political life with rare clarity. Written with the erudition of a scholar and the lucidity of a novelist, this is a landmark first book.’—Dr. Tripurdaman Singh, Historian and Author
‘Political parties are essential to representative democracy. Yet they remain poorly understood, often dismissed as corrupt, self-serving middlemen. This ambitious book challenges familiar assumptions and invites us not merely to tolerate political parties, but cherish them. Sethia’s engaging, insightful and erudite exploration of India’s party system is a must-read for scholars of our Constitution and for any citizen seeking to understand how our party system works, the serious challenges it faces, and how it can be reformed to serve democracy better.’—Professor Tarunabh Khaitan, Chair of Public Law, London School of Economics
‘Political parties are at the heart of electoral democracies, yet they remain largely absent from India’s constitutional lexicon. This paradox animates Aradhya Sethia’s provocative book, which invites us to rethink India not simply as a constitutional democracy, but as a Party Raj. Combining constitutional analysis and political history, this book offers a compelling diagnosis of Indian democracy’s organizational foundations. It asks us to recognize and cherish the centrality of political parties in public life, while showing how institutional reforms can address their structural weaknesses and strengthen their constitutional role. Its arguments reach well beyond constitutional law and electoral politics, compelling us to see both India’s Constitution and its political parties in a completely different light.’—Professor Rahul Verma, Political Scientist and Professor, Shiv Nadar University.
‘We, the Parties is a deeply researched yet highly accessible account of the crucial role of political parties in Indian democracy. Drawing on constitutional law, political theory and
the scholarship on parties and Indian political development, Aradhya Sethia shows why stronger democracy requires better institutionalized parties. Thoughtful, original and constructively reform-minded, this is a valuable book for anyone interested in making Indian democracy work better.’—Professor Karthik Muralidharan, Tata Chancellor’s professor of Economics, University of California San Diego and author of Accelerating India’s Development: A State-led Roadmap for Effective Governance
Releasing on Constitution Day – 26 November
