SOCIAL SCIENTIST with social change and gained legitimacy. The authors point out that political development in India has led to the plurality of Indian society being reflected in the party system. Having analysed the social support bases of the main political parties and the reasons for shift in support for them, the authors point out that there exists a broad-based sense of political efficacy with most respondents being of the opinion that their vote has an effect on the government of the country. Their survey also shows that political parties and elections have emerged as the preferred mode of social and political change in India. While the efficacy and political legitimacy of the institutions of democracy has increased, the politicians have low legitimacy. The authors also explore the systemic implications of the apex position occupied by regional parties on the resilience and integrity of the system, because the literature on modernisation and social change has always been concerned with Balkanisation of the country. The authors stress that despite the decline of the Indian National Congress and the rise of regional parties, the aggregate vote and seat share of national parties has remained at "a reasonably high level" (71 per cent or more) (pp. 158-59). Thus, the implication is that the national political discourse does not necessarily need to be mediated by an overarching Congress Party. The study has found that although the electorate was more concerned about their regional government and entrusted greater faith and trust in the local governments and regional parties, there was no dichotomy expressed between the regional and central governments by the respondents. Turning to social background of the regionalists, the study suggests that the greatest level of trust in regional government came from the OBCs which the authors suggest is a function of their limited access to the structures of power. However, the "the scales [are] in favour of the nation" (p. 176). The study also explores the "triangular relationship between the economy, society and politics" in a post-colonial state where "political mobilisation in a symbiotically-related hierarchical social structure and an agricultural setting based on subsistence economy creates the consciousness of inequality" assisted by the room for manoeuvre offered to the individual by the political process (p. 179). Deprivation in such a context can unleash turmoil and breakdown. It examines the perceptions of relative deprivation by individuals and their evaluation of the state of the economy, distributive justice and structural change. For this purpose, the authors have developed a "polarisation model" which combines the formulations of authors