The Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies (IAPS) together with the School of Politics and International Relations (SPIR) funded my research between January and April 2016.
The funding was used to conduct a short round of fieldwork in India. My thesis uses evidence from three case studies in India, namely Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In this round of fieldwork, two case study sites were studied. I conducted interviews with lower, middle-ranking and high-ranking politicians in the state of Gujarat and Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, the interviews were predominantly conducted at the private offices of the politicians and/or at their respective residence. This took place in Mumbai and Pune. In Gujarat, the majority of the interviews were conducted inside the state-assembly building, which is situated in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. My fieldwork coincided with the budgetary session of the Gujarat assembly, which helped me meet the politicians at a single location.
In addition, I held long hours of discussion with senior journalists and academics from the two states.
Lastly, I spent considerable time in Delhi, at the Centre for Study of Developing Society (CSDS), and at the Nehru memorial library. I also collected archival material from the Indian Express Archives in Chandigarh.
The fieldwork is of critical importance to my thesis. The interviews I conducted during my fieldwork help triangulate the secondary and other primary evidence I am using to substantiate the theoretical claims. My thesis primarily looks at the dynamic relationship between the state-units and the central level within the two national parties - the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress Party - in India. Since there is very little secondary material on this subject, interviews were a good way to gather fast and easy information.
More importantly, the fieldwork allowed to me observe the workings of politicians in practice, and helped develop a nuanced understanding going beyond the theoretical understanding. I met several dedicated party workers and office bearers that enriched my understanding of party organisation and Indian politics in general. I am indebted to them for giving me their time, and sharing their deep understanding of the nitty gritty of politics.
Dishil Shrimankar, PhD Candidate
School of Politics and International Relations, The University of Nottingham
Posted on Friday 27th May 2016