When Rebels Become Stakeholders: Democracy, Agency and Social Change in India explores the agency of ordinary men and women in the making of democratic social change in India. The study is specific to India, but the issues that it examines are of wider significance. The authors join the debate on democracy and development on the basis of case studies that showcase the opinions and attitudes of the Indian voter. They assert that mass perception of institutions, policies and processes-so often dismissed as mere false consciousness or as the conditioned reflex of a gullible public, manipulated by the rhetoric of populist politicians-is our only window to the inner dynamics of democracy and social change.