Democracy, Civil Society and Health in India

'In this plain-spoken book Gupta and Pushkar argue that India's 'citizen elites' must do more to enable the poor in making sustained demands for health-related services. Their insightful and rigorous argument draws on a remarkable range of evidence, from field research in low-income communities in New Delhi to reflections on citizen activism in Brazil.' - James McGuire, author of Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America

'Democracy, Civil Society and Health in India is a compelling and well-researched book in which the authors highlight a crucial linkage between civil society capacity and provision of basic health services and provide a convincing demonstration of how sustained claims-making can impact on human development outcomes in the most direct way possible.' - Antonia Maioni, McGill University, Canada

'Gupta and Pushkar expand our understanding of the reasons and processes that hinder a robust demand for greater and deeper public policy intervention in health by examining a broad range of relevant factors that impede the emergence of a more engaged civil society in this sector.' - Amit Prakash, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

'India's resilient democracy has resulted in many positive outcomes. However, millions in the country lack access to social services, including healthcare. In this wonderful book, Gupta and Pushkar explain why large numbers of Indians fail to effectively claim their rights and what needs be done so that they do so.' - Dan Banik, Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo, Norway