Discussing various ethnonational movements in India, including the Northeast, Punjab, and the Kashmir movements, the volume covers their initiation, subsequent trajectory, and the role of the State. The first part provides the context discussing democracy, diversity, and devolution and the containment of social and political power. The second and third parts focus on Kashmir as a legacy of Partition, and the Northeast respectively. Both parts discuss the nature of contest among various forms of legitimate and not-legitimate power in these conflicts. Dealing with the nature of federal design, the fourth part discusses conflict-negotiation between a democratic nation and prospective breakaway units, with an emphasis on how such situations are controlled. The fifth part explores the theory of fragmented nationalisms and relates it to the specifics of the situation in India. The concluding part charts the rise and fall of self-determination movements across the country.

This reader is the fourth in the Critical Issues in Indian Politics series. Discussing various ethnonational movements in India, including the Northeast, Punjab, and the Kashmir movements, the volume covers their initiation, subsequent trajectory, and the role of the State.