The papers included in the collection were presented in the three-day workshop on “Democracy and Democratic Institutions in Social Transformation: 21st Century Perspective”, held in New Delhi, on December 31, 2013 to January 2, 2014, at Jawaharlal Nehru University. It was organized at the initiative of the All India Progressive Forum (AIPF). In the workshop, there were participants from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh. Among them were Professors, lectures, lawyers journalists, activists, Professionals, and students.

The themes on which the sessions were organized included Democracy and Hegemony; Media and Social Change; Secularism and Indian Democracy; Marginalization, Identity, Gender Justice and Democracy; and Social Transformation and Democratization of Institutions.