Economic Reform and Political Interpretations: A Review of the Literature on the Politics of the Reform Process in India

India has had two major attempts to liberalise the economy. The first one took place in the 1980s; the second one started in 1991. The first attempt failed by and large, but the second one was more successful, even though, at first sight, the political conditions were less favourable. The reforms did not stop when the Congress (I) government was replaced in 1996 by a coalition headed by the Janata Dal, or in 1998, when a coalition led by the Bharatya Janata Party took over. This paper critically reviews the various approaches within the political science literature that try to explain the consolidation of the reforms in the 1990s. Why could this happen; why was there relatively little opposition; and what has been the impact of the reform on political configurations and struggles? In the conclusion, some gaps in the literature and areas for further investigations are identified.