It's a subject we keep coming back to on the newsletter and especially in interviews on the Political Fix Q&A (which you can get in your inbox every week here: thepoliticalfix.substack.com).
Below, a few of the fascinating conversations we've had on the subject.
*India's 'distinctive' but not 'diminshed' form of federalism
*New research indicating an economic reason for centralised federalism
*How the Modi-era has upended conventional wisdom about regionalisation of politics scroll.in/article/978931…
*how she started to engage with "what federalism actually does, as a tool that allows for the fundamental character of this country to cohere."
*the beginnings of a very, very important shift in the federal dynamic in India. scroll.in/article/975911…
.@NeelanjanSircar, talking about the politics of vishwas, on how
*Shah and Modi have "essentially regionalised the BJP", ie made it operate like a regional party at the national level
*There is a state party challenge to the BJP 'efficiency' narrative
"Arguably, what made Ahmed Patel so important in the Congress scheme of things was the fact that he was never ambitious for himself – unlike, say, a Pranab Mukherjee. He revelled in the proverbial backroom." thewire.in/politics/ahmed…
"While Mr. Patel’s stature grew nationally, the Congress in Gujarat shrunk over the years and many blamed his ‘towering presence’ as the reason why no local leader could grow in the State." thehindu.com/news/national/…
"Theatrics were played out at Congress’ 24 Akbar Road headquarters & decisions were formalised at 10 Janpath, but the realpolitik and operations happened at Patel’s 23 Mother Teresa Marg residence, where action and phone calls went on till the wee hours." economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-…
India moved very early to lockdown, even though Covid-19 numbers were low.
While this may have helped reduce transmission, it made the decision to emerge from a lockdown much harder, because India has no sense of when its peak will be. scroll.in/article/959016…
We wrote about this two weeks ago on the Political Fix, my weekly newsletter on Indian politics and policy (subscribe here: thepoliticalfix.substack.com).
The "early" lockdown gave states and Centre a disincentive to open up, despite the cost to the economy scroll.in/article/959016…
Many other countries moved towards an exit plan after new case numbers had "peaked".
For India, estimating that peak is much harder, so it was always going to be the case that numbers would still be growing even 5 weeks into lockdown: scroll.in/article/959016…
India's migrant labour question is quite complex but the way we discuss it tends to miss one crucial thing:
Labourers are citizens and humans, not resources. Policymakers need to acknowledge that they have aspirations and desires. scroll.in/article/959377… via @scroll_in
Here is a politician from the BJP, India's ruling party which also controls Delhi Police, giving an ultimatum to the same Delhi Police saying that he and his people will not even listen to the authorities and will take the law into their own hands.
The quotes in the first chapter of the Economic Survey sound like they're admonishing the Government of India for terrible management of the economy.
"For more than three-fourths of known economic history, India has been the dominant economic power globally."
@sidin is one of the many people who added skepticism to this research that speaks to India's massive historical economic dominance livemint.com/Opinion/JFl9w4…
Every week The Political Fix (subscribe: thepoliticalfix.substack.com) collects the most interesting pieces on Indian politics from around the web.
But there often isn't enough space for all the links, so I'm putting other ones for week of 19/1 in this thread. Tell me what I missed!
Former Delhi Police commissioner KK Paul says there has been a "loss of subtleness in crowd management, and [there is] the thinking among some policemen to teach the public a lesson and punish them," which needs to change. hindustantimes.com/analysis/there…
Mukul Kesavan says we need to look to Gandhi, not for his saintliness or his glasses as a logo, but as a political organiser who mastered "the tasks of financing, organizing and sustaining protest... of knowing when to advance and when to duck." telegraphindia.com/opinion/mahatm…