Daily Archives: February 19, 2022

Thehealth of Indian democracy is well-nigh stitched to the health of the democratisation of the Indian State. And, the democratisation, in turn, is stitched to the expansion of the federalisation processes of the Indian State. With striking prescience, the Indian Constitution makers agreed upon a sui generis federal architecture of power-sharing and instituted a federal framework for the electoral response to the overarching centralised representative democracy. State elections, as a form of response, are nevertheless assertions for accommodation and legitimation of the principles of federalism as enshrined in the Constitution. State elections affirm the Indian multilevel federalism.

Idea of Regionalism

Federalism, in essence, is the sharing of policy and governance power between different governments as units, mainly the Centre and the states, to enable shared-rule and self-rule of the units. This political framework facilitates togetherness and happiness by accommodating the regional, ethnic, religious, linguistic, national, and economic diversity in achieving harmony. The urge for federalism, both as a normative and a descriptive category, was felt during British rule, basically to sustain imperialism over the vast expanse of Indias size and diversity. The Government of India Act (1935) laid down the idea of dual polity and devolution, but in practice, owing to a better communication system, the British governance established a powerful centralised authority system. And the Indians, experiencing from the British government, contemplated that free India must have federalism but with a great deal of unitary control.

ALSO READ: State Of The Union: How Centre-State Ties Have Fractured Over Time

At the time of independence, with the British centralised governance in hindsight, India confronted several challenges, such as communal frenzy leading to Partition, the transfer of power, post-Partition administrative tasks, particularly settling the refugees, a burgeoning food crisis and socio-economic development. An overarching presence of a centralised Congress party in the Constituent Assembly opted for centralised planning, coupled with a tight federation to tackle these challenges. India, unlike many model-federations in the world, became quasi-federal instead.

The federal process, since Independence, is roller-coastering around the demands of states autonomy and the actual participatory, legislative and policy pitches to the dynamics of everyday political life. Till the mid-1960s, Nehru had institutionalised the core principles of federalism, that is of consultation, accommodation and consensus, with the chief ministers by writing letters to them on a monthly basis and also by cooptation of regional leaders into the national power structures. For Nehru it was easy to coordinate the Centre-state relations, as a large number of states were ruled by the Congress. However, the dismissal of the Communist government in Kerala (1959), on some tenuous ground, by the Centre was the first major setback to the federal principles. The fourth general elections (1967) reduced the Congress party to a simple majority at the national level and by then almost one-half of the states were ruled by non-Congress-opposition parties or coalitions. Centre-state relations moved on from the practice of accommodation to the practice of cohabitationstrong Congress-Centre cohabiting with the opposition at the state level. During the Emergency period (1975-7), Indias federal polity for all practical purposes became unitary, and the federal relations shifted from cohabitation to that of confrontation and resistance. The Emergency deeply scarred Indias aspirations of emerging as a reckoning federal-democracy. However, in the late 1980s, with the rise and assertion of regional parties at the national level, such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Bihar and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, the tendency to move towards the principle of accommodation and making alliances was quite visible. Even Atal Bihari Vajpayeethe then president of BJPhad to remark that his party needed to strategically slide to the middle of the political spectrum in order to recruit and forge alliances with potential coalition partners.

The dismissal of the Communist government in Kerala in 1959, on some tenuous ground, by the Centre was the first major setback to the federal principles.

Regional parties, typically in the form of state-based parties, operated as agencies and mechanisms to negotiate and organise power, both at the central and state levels, and emerged on Indias democratic infrastructure as multi-state parties largely based on regional-ethnic style. Few parties, for instance the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh, represented the features of an electoralist party, focusing on the distinct social constituencies along with its ethnic tropes. Coalition politics, since the 1990s, gave way to regional parties and therefore multi-party coalitions, and marked the deepening of the federalisation and democratisation processes, not only on the ideological vision but on the spatial trajectory too. The political process, from the 1990s onwards, marked the internalisation of federal norms and the state leaders of state-based parties carved out a new federal space of mutual power negotiations between the nation and the region. BJP, in the bargaining process, adroitly manipulated the peripheral federal cleavages and supported the carving out of new states from the belligerent regions of the existing states. The puzzle that Indias federal system is gets further complicated when regional parties, championing special and exclusive interests, coalesce with national parties and simultaneously with the other regional parties, and their leaders, striking a posture as a national leader, try to contextualise the regional party within the category of nation-state.

ALSO READ: Is Indian Federalism Reeling Under Burden Of One-Party Dominance?

State Polls

The state elections are in full sway. It is affirming the idea of festival of democracy and also equally affirming the idea of federalism. The five-state election cycle (Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur), but particularly UP, is likely to point the political direction for the national elections due in 2024. Both the national and regional parties are in the fray, but despite the strong regional sentiments to what Christophe Jaffrelot, the political scientist, calls ethnonationalist mobilisation, the political mobilisation is purely top-down where national political elites have stirred the caste-communal rabble to nab the votes of alienated individuals and groups. To understand state elections within the context of federalism, it is imperative to note the electoral narratives forged around the principal cleavages and also the alliance-building strategies within and outside of the regional parties.

ALSO READ: Punjab Haunted By The Past It Wants To Forget

The strong and autonomous state governments, to the possible extent that federalism permits, can offset the antinomies that Indian federalism is in the habit of reproducing, such as the misuse of extraordinary powers of Parliament. The recent farm laws and the invocation of the Disaster Management Act during the pandemic, for instance, explain how federalism can be infringed or transgressed. State governments need to understand the political interlocking of power relations embedded in the so-called cooperative federalism. In federalism it is important to share the federal powersprecisely for shared-rule and self-rulebut it is all the more important to use those powers for achieving constitutional goals and morality and also for holding out together the beautiful Indian diversity.

(This appeared in the print edition as "The Indian Diversity")

(Views expressed are personal)

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Constitutional Federalism: State Of Exception In The Paradise Of Kashmir

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How Regional Parties Are Becoming The Voice Of Small Communities

Manipurs Love-Hate Relations With Delhi

The Coalition Instinct: Bihars Manual Of Survival

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Tanvir Aeijaz teaches public policy at DU and is Director (hony) at the Centre for Multilevel Federalism, New Delhi

More here:

Federalism And The Idea Of Regionalism - Outlook India

In the premises of the National Conference head office at Nawai Subah, security forces usually hang their garments to dry over festoon flags of Kashmirs grand old party. Office-bearers of the party say they dont ask the forces to remove these clothes. We feel hurt, but cant do anything about it. After the revocation of Article 370, regional parties are facing an onslaught. It is sad to see our flag being covered with underwear, pyjamas and shirts. If we say anything, BJP might make it a national security issue, says Imran Nabi Dar, spokesperson of the party, with a straight face.

But what does this act by the Indian security forces have to do with the larger debate on Indian federalism, and Jammu and Kashmirs position within it? To start with, it reflects the sense of powerlessness prevailing among regional political parties as well as the people of J&K.

ALSO READ: State Of The Union: How Centre-State Ties Have Fractured Over Time

On August 5, 2019, when the BJP government abrogated Article 370 amid a military siege, a communication blackout and the arrests of thousands, including three former chief ministers, the relationship of J&K with the Centre changed dramatically. Earlier, the state had a separate constitution. Now, as a Union Territory, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh had become separate territories under the Indian Constitution. Earlier, regional parties sought autonomy and self-rule, but now they fear to raise any such issue. There are now widespread rumours that political leaders of the states regional parties are being coerced to join other parties.

Since 1950, Kashmirs politics had revolved around the political issue of Kashmir and its resolution. National Conference would repeatedly talk of restoring autonomy to J&K as the lasting solution to the issue. Since August 9, 1953, when Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was arrested, and J&K was relegated from an autonomous state within the Indian Union having its own PM and President, to a status equivalent to that of any other state within the Indian union, NC has been seeking restoration of the long-lost autonomy, with Article 370 acting as its bedrock. On June 26, 2000, the J&K assembly created ripples across the country, when, with Farooq Abdullah as chief minister, it passed an autonomy resolution with a voice vote.

There is democracy In other states, where Elections are held on time. But There is no federalism in case of J&K, says Harsh Dev Singh of the Panthers Party.

Prior to contesting elections in 1996, Abdullah had promised greater autonomy to the people. In 1996, there were around 6,000 to 7,000 militants operating in J&K, with no political party ready to contest polls, when Dr Abdullah jumped into the fray. Later, speaking on the autonomy debate in 1999, he had said, No one, including the NC, was ready to take up the challenge of elections then. But we were assured by New Delhi on autonomy, so we jumped into the electoral fray, putting at risk not only our lives, but also those of lakhs of people. After the resolution was passed, copies of it were handed over to the Intelligence Bureau and the Centre. However, the then NDA government rejected the resolution.

ALSO READ: Is Indian Federalism Reeling Under Burden Of One-Party Dominance?

Meanwhile, since its foundation in 1999, PDP has acted as a quasi-separatist party while seeking self-rule for J&K. Yet, in spite of their rhetoric, PDP formed the government with BJP in 2015, with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as the chief minister, followed by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti after his death.

Now, both NC and PDP have filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the revocation of Article 370 and seeking restoration of statehood by giving up slogans of autonomy and self-rule.

ALSO READ: Federalism And The Idea Of Regionalism

Despite raging conflict and insurgency, J&K under Article 370, which governed the Centres relationship with Jammu and Kashmir and was seen as an essential facet of Indias federalism, was enjoying its fruits. Constitutional experts and political parties in the state, especially NC and PDP, would always describe Article 370 as a tunnel through which the Constitution of India is applied in Kashmir. In 2014, NC vice president Omar Abdullah famously said Article 370 is the only link between J&K and the rest of India.

It must be said here that Jammu and Kashmir was not the only state enjoying special status in matters of land and identity. Under Article 371A, Nagaland also enjoys a special status, and no act of Parliament is automatically extended to Nagaland in matters of religious or social practices, ownership and transfer of land and resources, unless the state legislative assembly takes a call on it. In spite of Article 370, industrialists from across the country could get land on 90-year lease in J&K. Now, political parties in the Ladakh UT are seeking full statehood for their region, along with Article 371A like guarantees.

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GoIs agenda of undermining and trampling the spirit of federalism started with J&K, Mehbooba tells Outlook. Never in Indian history was a state demoted to a UT and robbed of its special status. More so, in a conflict region, centralised rule with an iron fist and obliterating the middle ground of mainstream parties is fraught with danger. Alarm bells for regional and opposition parties should ideally have rung in 2019 itself, when Article 370 was abrogated, says the former CM.

But perhaps the opposition didnt anticipate that this model would be replicated in other states too. Whether it was expanding the BSFs jurisdiction in Punjab and West Bengal, or the rude behaviour of BJP-appointed governors in opposition-ruled states, it is clear these are all a follow-up to what was done in Kashmir, she adds.

ALSO READ: Size Matters: Why Tiny Goa Needs To Be Heard More Often

While Mehbooba calls the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 the root cause of the disempowerment of the people of J&K, many academics feel the former state hasnt enjoyed the fruits of Indian federalism right since 1950.

Professor Siddiq Wahid, former vice-chancellor of Islamic University of Science and Technology at Awantipora, says India has never seriously dealt with the idea of regionalism or federalism. You wont find the word federal anywhere in the Constitution of India! he says.

The reason for this is that at the time of independence, neither the domestic leadership nor foreign powers were confident that the new nation would survive. The fear of break-up was expressed by the use of the term fissiparous tendencies. This fear introduced a biaswhich still existsagainst giving regions their due. And now it has become habituated. The fate of J&K is an extreme example of this fear, but if you examine Indias post-Independence history, you will note that centralisation has always been the thrust of New Delhis agenda, Prof Wahid says.

ALSO READ: Renegotiating Indias Federal Compact

He adds that New Delhi is willing to decentralise power in states by breaking up larger ones, such as forming Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Telangana, but it has never been willing to decentralise the powers of the Centre. Specific to J&K, and in particular where it concerns us in Kashmir, the Government of India has whittled away at the first contract it formed with usthe Delhi Agreement of 1952which was contravened the very next year (1953) with Sheikh Abdullahs arrest. So, Delhi has always been insincere with promises contained in things like Article 370 or the accommodation of Article 35A, while Kashmiris have been naive.

He adds that this reality will never be admitted by an Indian nationalist, be they liberal or Hindutva. It is this foundational insincerity, of which all political parties at the Centre have been guilty, that has led to a collapse of trust between Delhi and Srinagar, he says.

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Right now, fear and a sense of disempowerment prevails across both Kashmir and Jammu. But it is predominantly within the political class. Speaking at her Fairview residence on Gupkar Road earlier this week, Mehbooba reflected on the mood within regional parties. Since the abrogation of Article 370, everyday life is being made complicated for people. Every other day, orders are issued to usurp even those rights of the people of J&K that they were enjoying under the Indian Constitution, Mehbooba says. It has become difficult to figure out who is the worst sufferer in Kashmir. You chose any fieldpoliticians, journalists or the youtheveryone is being made to suffer. It is the only place where journalists are made to flee, she says.

NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar says J&K was not the only place enjoying some guarantees under Article 370. We were given rights by the Constitution of India. They took those away by locking us in jails, lock, stock and barrel, Dar says. Federalism in J&K can only be rescued by the Supreme Court. Let it hear petitions challenging Article 370. We believe the court will restore Article 370 and with it, confidence in federalism not just in J&K, but across the country, says Dar. The majority of the people in J&K, though, are sceptical. In J&K, people are being treated like insects. There is no hope. There is fear everywhere. Nobody is talking. It has been almost four years since the assembly was dissolved, we still dont have elections, says former minister and Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh. In other states, there is democracy. Elections are held on time. We have a proxy rule in J&K. There is no federalism when it comes to J&K, says Singh.

(This appeared in the print edition as "State of Exception in Paradise")

Centre-State Relations: Has The Concurrent List Outlived Its Utility

Mumbai Muddle: Why Maharashtra And Delhi Are Frequently At Loggerheads

How Dravidian Politics Acts As Bulwark Against Centralism

Ladakh Battling Centralisation To Save Identity Culture

How Regional Parties Are Becoming The Voice Of Small Communities

Manipurs Love-Hate Relations With Delhi

The Coalition Instinct: Bihars Manual Of Survival

Shifting The Goalposts: A Young Politicians Battle To Save Goa And Its Way Of Life

Naseer Ganai in Srinagar

The rest is here:

Constitutional Federalism: State Of Exception In The Paradise Of Kashmir - Outlook India

Just before 10 am on May 30 last year, my phone was set abuzz with messages about an extraordinary Statement to the People of Goa that had just been posted on Twitter by Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, the brand-new finance minister of Tamil Nadu. Switching screens to look, I found myself stunned, then chortling aloud with surprise and amusement. Id never read anything like it before. Many others went on to agree. A few days later, no less than Shashi Tharoor tweeted, Im delighted to say that in the annals of contemporary Indian political invective, this statement by @ptrmadurai has not been bettered.

PTRas he is often referred to by the publicposted his message two days after attending his first-ever meeting of the GST Council. Soon after the gathering, Goas notably hapless transport minister Mauvin Godinhowho represented Indias smallest statetried to grandstand and rally support for himself by alleging he was insulted by his counterpart: Thiaga Rajans case is that since he comes from a big state, he should have a bigger vote. Its like saying, I am the big brother, you shut up. I take strong offence to the way he conducted himself and expressed himself in the GST Council. I want [Tamil Nadu chief minister] Stalin to condemn his minister, and make him apologise.

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In the normal scheme of things, everyone would have ignored Godinho as usual. But PTR responded directly in public, headlining his statement with two declarations: The hallmark of character is consistency in ones principles, even at a cost, and then, rather hilariously, Empty vessels make the most noise. He continued, I generally do not respond to noises emanating from sources that are unworthy of response. But I make this exception for two reasons. First, to counter the baseless lies uttered by Goas transport minister, stating that I have insulted the people of Goa and asking my leader & chief minister to condemn my behaviour during a press conference. Second, and more important, the whole nation of India should know how such individuals impact the quality and output of the GST Council.

With charmingly quirky syntax, the debutant minister explained that the One State = One Vote model of GST is fundamentally unfair and The Dravidian movement has long advocated local self-government as the logical extension of our core principle of self-respect and self-determination. As such, we are ALWAYS for states rights, and a truly federal governance model that devolves powers from the Union government to the lowest level practical. PTR clarified that every statement I made during the entire meeting was entirely consistent with these two principles. Even when the principle resulted in loss of future revenue to Tamil Nadu.

Goa may be infinitely smaller and less populous than Tamil Nadu, but both are dwarfed by the oceanvast forces that have embroiled India in its contemporary predicament.

Now the MLA from Madurai Central switched gears: The only question arising from your transport ministers press conference is whether he is limited in comprehension, in honesty, or both. But I am sure you are aware of his history and have drawn your own conclusions before this incident. If doubt lingers, I add that he was vociferously, and repeatedly, against lowering the GST on Covid-related drugs & vaccines from 5 per cent to 0 per cent on humanitarian grounds I found his statements during the meeting to be highly repetitive, largely vacuous, hectoring, mostly redundant to others inputs, supercilious, and devoid of the basic courtesy of assuming good faith in the comments of other states ministers. He spoke for many times the length of inputs from the honble minister from Uttar Pradesh, a state of over 20 crore citizens, and indeed EVERY other state. I leave to the public to decide whether that serves India, and democracy, well.

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He ended with this unerring coup de grce: I have no need to apologise to the people of Goa, for I have done you no harm. In fact, I have strongly advocated for your state governments rights. I do not require or expect any thanks for that, as my position was dictated by my principles of strengthening states rights & federalism with enhanced devolution. But I do offer you my sincere condolences, for having such a person as your minister. I also charge the honble CM of Goa with perpetrating a misdemeanour on Goas citizens, and the GST Council, by nominating him to represent your beautiful state. Finally, I sincerely request the BJP, even across the political divide, to impose some minimal quality control on its MLA acquisition procedure. If it had done so, Goa, and the nation would be saved a lot of pain.

Within minutes of being posted, this statement had social media ablaze with approval. The response from Goa was especially overwhelming, in part because the state was in the midst of suffering the worst throes of the second wave of Covid-19 infections, with dozens of unfortunate residents succumbing everyday due to flagrant mismanagement of oxygen. Just a couple of days afterwards, having waded in to try and reduce casualties and being thwarted by sheer inertia, the state high court issued an unprecedented apology, saying, We are very sorry. We failed collectively. We owe an apology to the people. Later on, talking about the unmitigated disaster, BJPs own governor Satya Pal Malik (he was eventually transferred to Meghalaya) admitted, There was corruption in everything the Goa government did [regarding the pandemic]. I probed the matter and informed the prime minister about it. Today people are scared to speak the truth in the country.

ALSO READ: Federalism And The Idea Of Regionalism

In this cesspool of misgovernance, PTRs statement was a thunderclap of clarity that resonated deeply with Goas beleaguered populace. They responded with unanimous appreciation, and, after dozens of requests, I finally wrote an open letter on behalf of the consensusit was signed from the people of Goain the century-old O Heraldo newspaper, once the longest-running Lusophone daily outside Brazil and Portugal. In those storied pages, by channelling sentiments being expressed all around me, and as a kind of homage to the tone and tenor of PTRs remarkable communiqu, I wrote to him that You should know it has been greatly dismaying for us, for many years, that Goas political cadre machinates almost exclusively in opaque, inexplicable and often indefensible ploys. Thus, you have done an excellent service by describing how your counterpart from Indias smallest state was vociferously, and repeatedly, against lowering the GST on Covid-related drugs and vaccines from 5 per cent to nil, on humanitarian grounds.

I also included this caveat: Please note the implications of Babasaheb Ambedkars unwavering dictum that rights for minorities should be absolute rights and should not be subject to any consideration as to what another party may like to do. He was speaking for all communities confronted by majoritarianism. Here it would be useful to remember that Goa may be infinitely smaller and less populous than Tamil Nadu, but both are dwarfed by the oceanvast forces that have embroiled India in its contemporary predicament. And this plea: You should know there is nigh-unanimous approval being expressed for your unusual, very welcome comments directed directly to the people of Goa, and the remarkable truth-telling therein. We are convinced the people of your great state are lucky to have you fighting for their interests. We hope that you will keep ours in mind as well.

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This back and forth was joyously received in both parts of the country. I suddenly got 400 new Twitter followers from Tamil Nadu, most of whose bio details included the tell-tale DMK catchphrase, of Dravidian stock. Meanwhile in Goa, the response was overwhelming relief. Finally, there was at least one political leader who had an inkling of our plight, and it didnt really matter that his constituency is over 1,000 km away from our state borders. Looking back now, PTR tells me via email that I was indeed surprised to hear of how my letter was received in Goa, a place I have long admired but never visited in my life. At first, I chalked it down to the uniquely poor track record of the individual involved (Godinho). But I think there may be a larger rationale.

Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin announced he was launching an All India Federation for Social Justice, made up of leaders of depressed classes from all the states.

That larger rationale is, of course, federalism. PTR and my public exchange was conducted in the spirit of interstate dialogue, which is so rare now that one respondent on Twitter actually called it a good beginning for our political-economic democracy. This is because, ever since 1947but with particularly egregious strong-arm tactics since the Modi-Shah combine rose to what seems like almost unlimited power in New Delhi in 2014the Centre has continually and relentlessly abrogated the means and channels of national communication for itself, closely mimicking the colonial apparatus that preceded it in power. Alexander Hamilton warned of precisely this in his all-important Federalist Papers, published in 1788: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself. And as PTR put it succinctly in Outlook Business earlier this month, We are much less of a federal country than either the capitalist America or the communist China.

ALSO READ: Renegotiating Indias Federal Compact

Over email, he elaborated, Devolution of powers is infinitely greater in both the US and China. In the US, everything from policing to school administration is down to the village/town/city. Sales taxes are set ONLY by states and counties. Even income taxes are set by states and cities. In China, the local authority issues licences for industrial production. Cities run their own police forces. Banking licenses are only issued by the provinces. This devolution of powers ensures three superior outcomes relative to India: greater self-determination; policy and programme customisation to suit local areas needs/demands; and greater accountability because local elected representatives can be held to account by voters, much more than national officials.

PTR says, I believe many countries get federalism rightChina, US, Australia, Switzerland (even in this tiny country, immigration rules are set by the canton). India is the country that gets it absolutely wrong. And the consequences are devastating, when considering the scale of India, and the authoritarianism of the current regime. This is the crux of his argument: We do need to create an alternative narrative to the strongman narrative, which is the fast-track to fascism. But the reality is that the authoritarian model is simply incapable of delivering results, because Indias scale and complexity cannot be managed in that manner. So, the danger is that we are on the way to economic ruin and social strife, and the vicious circle of using divisions to distract from gross economic/growth/job failures will accelerate the destruction of value built up over seven decades as a democracy.

ALSO READ: Right In The Centre: The New Power Structure In Dilli Durbar

This is an inescapable analysis, with tremendous resonance for South India, as well as all the other statesthe entire north-east region comes to mindwhich are generally badly served by an imperial Centres focus on interests that are very different from theirs. Certainly, PTRs analysis reads like gospel truth in Goa, where grotesque servility to the Modi-Shah combine has become the most basic political currency. This explains why, on the campaign trail, when chief minister Pramod Sawant was asked which other CM he admired, he knew there was only one correct answer no matter how much it horrified his own voters. Pat it came: Yogi Adityanath. Similarly, there can be no surprise when the perennially bumbling Mauvin Godinhowho was in the Congress before being strong-armed into the BJP by Manohar Parrikar in 2016spares no bootlicking extreme in ostensible devotion to his Vishwaguruall important presidents and prime ministers are quoting Modiji. Why? Because he has got that leadership!

Does he, though? And by repeating it more and more loudly, while genuflecting even more slavishly, will it become so? Can an entire country be successfully bludgeoned into assent? Here, its important to acknowledge that Tamil Nadu and PTRs DMK provide an alternativeand highly persuasiveidea of federation that could easily gain enough traction to be an epochal course correction for India. Late last month, chief minister Stalin announced he was launching an All India Federation for Social Justice, made up of leaders of depressed classes from all the states on his partys Dravidian model of everything for everyone. His unspoken promise: our government works relatively well in Tamil Nadu, and everyone else deserves the same.

ALSO READ: Centre-State Relations: Has The Concurrent List Outlived Its Utility

PTR told me, The notion of inter-state cooperation is as old as the country. Wiser men than our current leaders created the Council of States, which has effectively been dismantled. It needs to be revived. The long run of coalition governments at the Union level may have dulled the need for such a forum. Both multi-state parties (I wont call them national because NO party really has a nationwide presence), but much more so the BJP than the Congress, may see their own organisations as a substitute for such a councilbut they are not. The trend towards cult leadership across all parties is also antithetical to the notion of inter-state dialogue. I think it is crucial for democracy that much more of this happens, frequently and regularly.

(This appeared in the print edition as "Eye of the Thiaga")

(Views expressed are personal)

Mumbai Muddle: Why Maharashtra And Delhi Are Frequently At Loggerheads

How Dravidian Politics Acts As Bulwark Against Centralism

Constitutional Federalism: State Of Exception In The Paradise Of Kashmir

Ladakh Battling Centralisation To Save Identity Culture

How Regional Parties Are Becoming The Voice Of Small Communities

Manipurs Love-Hate Relations With Delhi

The Coalition Instinct: Bihars Manual Of Survival

Behind The Veil: Why Muslim Students Are Fighting For Hijab

Shifting The Goalposts: A Young Politicians Battle To Save Goa And Its Way Of Life

Diary | How The Pandemic Disrupted A Teenagers World

Vivek Menezes is a writer and photographer, and co-founder of the goa Arts+literary festival

Continued here:

Size Matters: Why Tiny Goa Needs To Be Heard More Often - Outlook India