Is politics necessary in any society? How is political authority constituted and legitimated in a society? How has democracy as a form taken shape in a heterogeneous society like India given its multiple cleavages such as caste, class, religion and language? And how has the modern state, democracy and economy taken form in India? In this course, we look at these questions using tools of political analysis and understand how these concepts were articulated with modern Indian history. We take a look at the formation of the Indian sate from colonial to postcolonial society in India and understand how democracy with its constitutionalism and its liberal rights shaped development trajectories over time have, including the political economy of development. We will discuss the rights framework of social citizen ship in the Indian context with a focus on caste, ethnicity and religion, as well as the context of nationalism and territorial sovereignty. This course includes readings, lectures and discussions.