A single mirror reflects the truth as it is but only from one perspective. A ˜hall of mirrors, on the other hand, exposes the truth through overlapping reflections, with varying depths and from a wide range of perspectives. In this book, political scientist Peter Ronald deSouza places India at the centre of such a hall of mirrors. He reveals for the reader the layered nature of Indian democracy, one particular depth, one particular perspective at a time.

In the hall of mirrors discusses the dynamics of democracy and the nature of the human condition in India through a range of multidisciplinary, analytical and methodological tools. It documents our achievements and failures, follies and humanity, through the fall and rise of competing ideologies. The essays here, written over the course of the past two decades, document the aspirations and anxieties of the Indian people, the accommodations that our plural society has made, and the uncertainties and ambivalences that remain as a result of this grand experiment of and in democracy.
With this eclectic collection of his writings in journals and popular dailies, the author takes us through an array of issues facing us. At every turn and in every corner, he reflects on the resilience of India's democracy, the worlds largest and most challenging. Students, scholars and the general reader interested in democracy, political Science and contemporary India will find this book invaluable.