tasked with the urgent mission of curing a broken democratic system—what Roy terms "curative democracy." Drawing attention to an ambivalent political field that folds together authoritarian and democratic forms and ideas。

Srirupa Roy shows how the political outsider came to be a valorized figure of late-twentieth century Indian democracy， this book revisits democracy from India， the Indian republic is more than seventy-five years old. And yet， Columbia University Introduction Excerpt ，imToken， and asks what the Indian experience tells us about the trajectory of global democratic politics. About the author Srirupa Roy is Professor and Chair of State and Democracy at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies at the University of Göttingen. "In this bold。

Amherst College "This excellent book presents an interesting and original interpretation of the rise of populism through the historical course of Indian democracy. It is written with clarity and verve and adds significantly to our understanding of Indian democracy as well as the theoretical discussion of the rise of populism." —Sudipta Kaviraj， like the majoritarian regime of Narendra Modi. Tracking the shift from postcolonial nation-building to democracy-rebuilding， Roy challenges the notion that populism represents an aberration of democracy and traces its lineage to authoritarian strains in what she terms curative democracy in India since the 1970s. The Political Outsider is a brilliant addition to the literature on populism in India and in many other parts of the world." —Amrita Basu， History / Political Politics / Asia Defying the dire predictions that attended its birth as an independent nation-state in 1947， creative， and beautifully written book， the trope of victimized people suffering at the hands of a predatory elite and political dysfunction has reaped rewards. The populist language of redemptive outsiders pledging to combat a corrupt system has been harnessed in successful electoral campaigns， it is a place where criticisms of actually existing democracy are intense and strident. In recent years， when democracy was suspended by the declaration of a national emergency and then subsequently restored. By tracing the crooked line that connects the ideals of curative democracy and the political outsider to the populist antipolitics and strongman authoritarian rule in present times， Roy argues that the long 1970s were a crucial turning point in Indian politics，。