Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy since Independence

Steven I. Wilkinson

Published by Harvard University Press 2015

Army and Nation

The Military and Indian Democracy since Independence

Steven I. Wilkinson

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674736269

Overview
Contents

About this book

Steven I. Wilkinson explores how India has succeeded in keeping the military out of politics, when so many other countries have failed. He uncovers the command and control strategies, the careful ethnic balancing, and the political, foreign policy, and strategic decisions that have made the army safe for Indian democracy.

Author / Editor information

Wilkinson Steven I. :

Steven I. Wilkinson is Nilekani Professor of India and South Asian Studies and Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Yale University.

Reviews

There has been nothing like Army and Nation in the last forty years, which is astonishing given the importance of the army in India. Wilkinson details the ways in which India made many changes that prevent the kind of army actions we see in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other states. There are many lessons here, both to help Indians better understand their own democracy, and for other nations.
-- Stephen P. Cohen, author of The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation

Army and Nation complements and, in many ways, surpasses other classic books on the Indian army. One of the signal contributions of the book is Wilkinson’s painstaking collection, collation, analysis, and presentation of quantitative information. Nothing remotely comparable exists.
-- Srinath Raghavan, author of 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh

While Pakistan quickly slipped into a rhythm of juntas, India, with much the same colonial heritage, consolidated the world’s largest democracy. Why? Steven Wilkinson’s Army and Nation offers a new answer to that old puzzle. It is a story of what happens when armies fail to reflect the societies they defend, as well as a meditation on Juvenal’s famous question quis custodiet ipsos custodes? --who shall guard the guards? …Wilkinson’s book is an excellent guide to the world’s biggest democratic army. It is also a fine answer to Juvenal’s cautionary question.
-- Shashank Joshi Financial Times

[An] insightful book.
-- John Waterbury Foreign Affairs

A thorough, detailed, scholarly work and major contribution to studies of praetorianism.
-- M. G. Roskin Choice

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Introduction: Army and Nation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Divide and Rule Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
2. War and Partition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	63
3. Protecting the New Democracy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	86
4. From 1962 to Bluestar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
5. Army and Nation Today Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	154
6. The Path Not Taken: Pakistan 1947– 1977 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	192
Conclusion: Army and Nation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
Appendix: Data on the Changing Composition of the Indian Military since 1930 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	259
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	279

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 262
Illustrations
- Other: 16 line illustrations, 16 tables

eBook

Published: February 12, 2015
ISBN: 9780674736269