An Indian social democracy: integrating markets, democracy and social justice - 2 Vols.

Indias recent economic growth, in a society where most remainpoor and benefits are unequally distributed, poses dilemmas forpolicy makers and analysts. Do rapid growth and widespreadinequality necessarily go hand in hand ? Can inequality be lessenedwithout impeding the growth essential to sustain social spending ?What is a sustainable pattern of growth ?
India, historically committed to a path of social democraticprogress, is taking important steps to mitigate social risk andinequality: Examples include the National Rural Employ-mentGuarantee Act, the Right to Education Act, legislation on foodsecurity, as well as introduction of innovative deliverymechanisms. Building on these initiatives, Indias challenge now isto create an integrated political vision based on a three-foldcommitment: to the values of social justice, to the instruments ofmarkets, and to the processes of democracy.
Can India rise to this challenge ? What hurdles-cultural no lessthan political and economic-stand in the way of realising itssocial democratic ideals ? Are current priorities appropriate ?Such questions and how they might be addressed animate thisremarkable twin volume collection.