Pressure Groups in India

Sumanta Banerjee Pressure Groups and Democracy in India by L P Misquitta; Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1991; pp 320, Rs 275.
WHILE the state is indeed an organ of class rule, in India the motley and protean character of the ruling classes have invariably led to a proliferation of pressure groups from among various sections of them which seek to influence the state's decision-making in areas which affect their respective interests. Economic pulls and pressures, and contra- dictions among these different groups, are brought to bear upon the state which sometimes mediates between the conflicting interests, sometimes succumbs to a more powerful pressure group, and sometimes overrides another