This volume brings together the finest scholarly writings on several dimensions of India's democracy. It analyzes India's experiment with democracy and its successes and failures. It also situates Indian democracy in the context of the basic principles of democratic theory as well as contemporary debates about the relationship of democracy with civil society, cultural diversity, and development. The volume addresses the crucial concern as to whether the state has contributed to the decline of democracy or whether democratic politics has undermined the states capability to govern the city. It discusses India's unique experience of negotiating cultural diversity through democratic institutional mechanisms.