In the aftermath of India's general election in May 2009, this book undertakes a critical evaluation of the performance of the UPA. Using the UPA as an analytical centrepiece, the contributors advance our understanding of the relationship between the state and politics in three critical areas: governance, secularism, and security. These three features constitute important fault lines between the main national political parties in India and provide an interesting point of departure to explore the new emerging new trends as well as the strong underlying continuities between the UPA...