Discussing Ideology and Identity | Book Talk with Dr Rahul Verma

Interviewers: Bilquis Calcuttawala and Ishani Sharma In this episode of Interlinked's sub-series, Kitabon ka Karwaan, we hold a discussion around the recently published book by Dr Rahul Verma, "Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India".  We talk in-depth about the two concepts of the politics of statism and the politics of recognition which are central to understanding the arguments in this book. Dr Verma also sheds light on the role of media and the use of religion to portray specific messages and disseminate ideological ideas. Concludingly, Prof Verma discusses how the shift of power (mainly guided by the conservative and vernacular elite) has important lessons for comparative politics.  Rahul Verma is a Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR). He is also Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, at Ashoka University. His research interests include voting behaviour, party politics, political violence, and media. He is a regular columnist for various news platforms and has published papers in Asian Survey, Economic & Political Weekly, and Studies in Indian Politics. His book co-authored with Pradeep Chhibber, Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India (OUP: New York, 2018) develops a new approach to defining the contours of what constitutes an ideology in multi-ethnic countries such as India. Image Source: AFP photos