Context

Chapter 2 provides a detailed account of the three key stories of change that form the backdrop to this study—in paddy cultivation, electoral politics, and the practice of Islam. The two villages of Madanpur and Chishti (pseudonyms) are described. The changing dynamics of paddy cultivation and the challenges of the Green Revolution are introduced, as are the basic programs of land reform undertaken by communist governments. The story of huge electoral change from near-complete dominance of the communist parties of the Left Front from 1977 to their rout by Trinamool Congress in 2013 thirty four years later is outlined. The particular story of Islam, the origin of the elite Syeds from an Iranian ancestor, and present-day dynamics with reformist Islam are presented. Charles Taylor’s idea of “social imaginaries”—a key concept in the book—is discussed here.