This book, written by two academics who are also campaigners, offers the best survey of recent Indian history that I have seen.

Barry Pavier, International Socialism

Menon and Nigam provide us a much-needed, readily accessible, deeply informed, and critically sophisticated insiders' analysis of political reality in India during its rapid rise to global stardom as a neo-liberal icon of economic success.

David Ludden, New York University

This is a sophisticated yet accessible survey of contemporary Indian politics and society. It will be an excellent textbook and a handy reference work to a complex field of study

Faisal Devji, New School University

This book approaches the daunting task of analyzing the contradictory, diverse, and divergent history of India since 1989 with uncommon intelligence. To its great merit, Power and Contestation addresses the multiple trends in Indian politics while also offering a coherent and sustained argument about the principal driving forces. To manage to accomplish all this while maintaining a perspective at once local and global is no mean feat.

Gyan Prakash, Princeton University

A great introduction to the complex contradictions that make up contemporary India .. A critical, insightful, and yet accessible description of India's present history ... Brilliant analysis ... A forceful book.

Labour/Le Travail