Introduction

Mitra (1977), Jha (1980) and Bardhan (1984) are part of India's rich tradition of political writing and specifically a product of the debate about ‘Industrial Stagnation’ (1965 and 1980). There have been works of political economy since Varma (1998), Herring (1999), Chibber (2003), and Harriss-White (2003), but the volume of that output has declined notably, especially that related to class (Chibber 2006). This chapter marks a return to this tradition; specifically it is a response to the re-release of both Bardhan (1984) in 1998 as an expanded edition with an epilogue and Mitra (1977) in 2005 in a new edition with a freshly penned introduction. Mitra by 2005 was saying, ‘The doubt persists. Is there much point in re-issuing a book which has disappeared from the market for nearly a quarter of a century?’ and that ‘Circumstances conspired to make mincemeat of what the book sought to say’ (Mitra 2005, xi–xiii). Mitra does argue of a continued relevance, ‘It wanted political economy to be put back on the agenda of conventional economics […] what was said thirty years ago may possibly still have some relevance in today's world’ (Mitra 2005, xvii). Bardhan was more optimistic: ‘All these changes and realignments in the composition and attitudes of the dominant coalition have made some of the deregulatory reforms more acceptable than before. But […] one should not underestimate the enormity and tenacity of vested interests in the preservation of the old political equilibrium of subsidies and patronage distribution’ (Bardhan 1998, 132). In this chapter we complete this process and return to Jha (1980).