Political Line | India@75: State of Democracy, Freebie Debate, Kashmir’s New Voters and more

(The Political Line newsletter is the political landscape of India explained every week by Varghese K. George, Senior Editor of The Hindu. You can subscribe. Here To get the newsletter delivered to your inbox every Friday.)

the cost of patriotism

India celebrated its 75th Independence Day last week, a major milestone in the country’s journey which was marked with pride and enthusiasm all around. This was also an occasion to think. Patriotism is less a sentiment, and more of a performance these days. An incident was reported from Haryana, The owner of a fair price shop forces poor people to spend ₹20 to buy the flag. Before they were given their supplies, this sparked outrage and the government was quick to act against them. The government also clarified, rightly and thankfully, that no one can be forced to buy the national flag. But even so, the incident was a metaphor for the dangers of turning patriotism into a spectacle – it imposes a cost on the population, and the poor suffer more. In a town in Kashmir, the administration asked people to take part in the flag campaign. This was opposed by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

The ‘freebie’ debate continues, and the Supreme Court thinks it may interfere with regulating government schemes aimed at securing votes. It’s a slippery slope – in a democracy, the state negotiates with the people, and welfare schemes are part of that bargain. Arguing that some welfare schemes are legitimate while others are undesirable freebies is a problematic argument. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, who is heading the bench hearing the matter, said: “I don’t think voters are looking for freebies. If given a chance, they (voters) will opt for a respectable earning. For example, MGNREGA offered respectable earnings and also created public wealth in rural areas. The court said its primary concern is “the right way to spend public money”. Well, it may be a sacred concern, but not the mandate of the judiciary. Will the judiciary decide tomorrow whether buying the S400 missile defense system from Russia is a good use of public money?

We’ve been publishing a lot on the ‘freebie’ debate, and Here’s an article I strongly recommend, The author argues that “… as long as the assumption that ‘incentives’ provided to the elite are ‘positive economic measures’ while provided to the poor are ‘free’, policy makers, decision-makers and the elite (Both are economic. /Social welfare interventions in various forms), this skewed conflict will continue to exist.”

Speaking of freebies, a champion of welfare/freebie politics, you are in trouble. The CBI and ED are cracking down on their leaders, and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is in the latest crosshairs. The victory of Punjab has taken away the shine of AAP; His government in the state is struggling to fulfill the promises made. Meanwhile, it is trying to pitch for power in Gujarat. BJP is trying to sabotage its momentum, and as per existing norms, some help from CBI and ED is par for the course!

Talking about votes and voters, there is an uproar in Kashmir over the campaign being run by the Election Commission to enroll migrant citizens as voters. Now the special drive to enroll voters is nothing special, it happens in other places as well. but People without domicile certificate in Kashmir will be eligible to vote for the first timeWhich is the result of the revocation of its special status in 2019. The ECI is expecting 20 to 25 lakh new voters to be added to the final list.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has talked about equal rights for all citizens. Hindu community has equal rights in the country Otherwise. She has been insisting that the number of Mandap in Dhaka during Durga Puja The festivities were much more than in West Bengal. A good model to follow, isn’t it? I wrote about Bangladesh’s continued efforts to build trust among Hindu minorities – often in contrast to the situation in Bangladesh Muslim minority of India.

CM Nitish Kumar along with his deputy Tejashwi Yadav laid the foundation stone of metro work in Patna on Thursday. PTI – | photo Credit: –

Finally, for this week I draw your attention to two works I have written. In it, I analyze the political situation in Bihar after the formation of the new coalition government of RJD and JD(U) and its implications for national politics. “It remains to be seen whether the new JD(U)-RJD alliance will be able to counter the BJP’s charge that social justice is only a mask for advancement by its leaders and their families – or merely substantiate the allegation. Is. at any price, The politics of social justice is at a crossroads. or maybe even in a dead end,

In this, I make a case for Re-imagining federalism as a multidimensional framework for negotiating India’s existing and emerging fault lines Going beyond its narrow definition in the context of Centre-State relations. “Occupied by the dynastic elite, the concepts of social justice, secularism and regional autonomy face a great crisis of legitimacy. Federalism, with new meanings, and free from unnecessary meanings, can be the ideological framework for negotiating the current and emerging challenges facing the country…. Therefore, the nectar period requires a new discussion on equal power-sharing and resource-sharing. Regions, castes, linguistic groups and genders. It will be essential for India’s progress, which is based on the accord of a new federalism.”