Book Reviews 303 visible and succeeded. It would be interesting to note why this long history of sedition and other free speech restrictions in a liberal democracy have not provoked a similar challenge. For now, these books undoubtedly have squarely put free speech on the agenda of those not just studying India but also other liberal democracies. Jinee Lokaneeta Drew University Madison, NJ, United States E-mail: jlokanee@drew.edu Amit Ahuja, Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 2019. 238 pp. `550. ISBN: 9780190916435 DOI: 10.1177/2321023020963418 Dalit politics, based on the assessment that social elites lack ethical convictions about the emancipation of the Dalits and under the leadership of Dr Ambedkar, has emerged as a fearless challenge to Congress’ parental and moralist appeals. The post-Ambedkar Dalit political mobilization has also been admired as a substantive and transformative force. However, the Dalit assertion is also belittled as a narrow political act, or looked down upon as narrow ethnic mobilization merely for a community-centric political development. Recent political developments demonstrate that there is no ‘Dalit bloc’ at the national level. Even in states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, where there was ideological conformity with Ambedkarite principles, the Dalit voters are increasingly heterogenous. Amit Ahuja’s work explores and examines the growing complexities of the Dalit mobilization as political and social movements. It is a grand project to map the Dalits’ social and political mobilization and its impact in transforming India’s democracy. It demonstrates that the Dalits have developed a confederation-like structure and have emerged as crucial social and political actors at various regional levels. The author utilizes extensive field surveys and interviews to examine the success and failures of four major ‘Dalit’ political parties: the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) of Tamil Nadu; Republican Party of India (RPI) in Maharashtra; Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in UP; and Lok Janshakti Party in Bihar. He shows that though the Dalits are surviving in precarious social and economic conditions, their political consciousness is robust and active. The Dalit parties in each state have differing roles, strategies and ideological orientation. The Dalit movements in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are celebrated as vocal, aggressive and influential forces with strong intellectual vibrancy. With their radical social content, they have influenced the literary and cultural milieu significantly. However, in both states, the Dalit political parties are visibly weak. The author calls them the social ‘movement states’ (p. 15) and argues that these states are now witnessing divisions in Dalit ranks as many have joined the bourgeois or communal political outfits. Though the Dalits in these states are socially conscious and wear Ambedkar on their sleeves, they differ when it comes to voting en bloc for a Dalit party (p. 101) as they often rally behind secular parties, like Congress in Maharashtra and DMK in Tamil Nadu, as political alternative. In contrast, Dalit political assertion in Bihar and UP is impressive. Here, a strong bloc of Dalit voters is crafted without depending strictly upon social history or legacies of social reforms. The comparative method allows the author to argue that strong social roots or cultural movement (as in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu) are not the precursor to political success. In UP and Bihar, the Dalits utilized distinct political strategies (like anti-upper caste social awakening) and creative local narratives (unearthing caste histories and local icons) to build impressive political strength. The author suggests that in the