ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces an analysis report of a public opinion study based on a survey titled “Politics and Society between Elections” (2016–2019). The report discusses how a large number of respondents were surveyed in times between elections across 23 states and the National Capital Region of Delhi focusing on public opinion about the social and the political universes Indian citizens inhabit.
The states covered include 23 states (at the time of data collection) and the National Capital Region of Delhi. They are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Note that Jammu and Kashmir was a state at the time of survey and for the sake of convenience we continue to refer to it as so in this report. Our sample size consists of 48542 respondents.
The survey questions cover a range of topics of interest to social scientists studying India, such as: friendship ties across social groups, perceptions of social community, citizens’ trust in political institutions, political networks, awareness of public services and ease of access, citizen–state interfaces and land governance, gender roles and relationships, nationalism and political identity, freedom of expression, and populism.
