The Institute of Development Studies and Partner Organisations
Browse

Why Indians Vote: Reflections on Rights, Citizenship, and Democracy from a Tamil Nadu Village

Download (397.65 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2024-09-06, 07:12 authored by Grace Carswell, Geert De Neve
This paper contributes to an empirical and theoretical understanding of democracy and political participation in India through an ethnographic study of the meanings attached to voting in rural Tamil Nadu. Based on a study of voting in a rural constituency during the 2009 national elections, the paper explores the variety of motivations that compel people to vote. It explores how voting is informed by popular understandings of rights and duties as citizens, programmatic policies and their local implementation, commitment to caste and party loyalties, and authority of charismatic leaders. The paper explores the roots of the political consciousness and rights awareness that underpin high levels of electoral participation. It suggests that elections form unique moments that allow ordinary people to experience an individual sense of citizenship and of democracy itself while at the same time allowing them to pursue projects of recognition, respect and assertion as members of communities. It is precisely this dual feature that makes voting so enduringly attractive to India's contemporary electorate.

History

Publisher

Wiley

Citation

Carswell, G. and De Neve, G. (2014) Why Indians vote: reflections on rights, citizenship and democracy from a Tamil Nadu village. Antipode, 46 (4). pp. 1032-1053. DOI: 10.1111/anti.12081.

IDS Item Types

Article

Copyright holder

Wiley

Country

India

Language

en

Identifier Ag

EPD/129; RES-167-25-0296, ES/F026633/1

Usage metrics

    Impact Initiative - Urban/Rural

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC