India’s Turn to Rights-Based Legislation (2004–2014): A Critical Review of the Literature

Abstract

This article surveys the academic literature on rights-based legislation and critically discusses key findings and arguments that emerge from this literature. I conduct this survey and discussion in light of a wider understanding of the political economy of Indian democracy as resilient but limited in terms of substantial forms of redistribution and recognition in favour of subaltern groups. This contradiction has arguably become especially pronounced in the context of neoliberalisation, where, despite the active participation of the poor in electoral democracy, socioeconomic inequality has reached dramatic heights, and I discuss rights-based legislation as a response to this. In conclusion, I reflect on whether rights-based legislation has anything to offer an oppositional political project to break with this spiral of dispossession and impoverishment.