This course introduces students to foundational theoretical and conceptual tools of Political Economy. It is the first in a two course Political Economy sequence. The central theme in both courses is power. The first part of the course develops theoretical foundations of class, caste, and gender as core relations of power in the Indian economy. The second part operationalizes the theoretical foundations from Part I in locations of power such as farms, factories, and homes, to explore how class, gender, and caste shape economic endowments and outcomes. The course covers both key theoretical foundational texts and recent empirical studies and requires students to engage with key datasets such as the Economic Census and the Situation Assessment Survey for agriculture.