Regional Parties in the 16th Lok Sabha Elections
This paper attempts to explain why some regional parties flourished and others fizzled out in the 16th general elections to the Lok Sabha. To explain this variation, it makes a distinction between...
View ArticleClass Voting in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections
How did the middle- and upp er-middle-class voters vote in the 2014 elections? Apart from purely numerical effects, the middle class is electorally more impactful relative to its size because of its...
View ArticleWar, Conflict and Development
These articles on the challenges of development in post-war or post-conflict societies offer an opportunity to engage critically with the issue from a viewpoint that embraces politically contextualised...
View ArticleProtests and Counter Protests
The value of civil society lies in that it provides a space for alternative views, debate, and dissent. Yet, this paper points out, civil society in post-war Sri Lanka is captive to the forces of local...
View ArticleContradictions of the Sri Lankan State
The policies of the Sri Lankan state since the late 1970s have seen a widening gap between its neo-liberal foundations and its attempts to claim popular legitimacy, and this structure of politics seems...
View ArticleThe Reintegration of Maoist Ex-Combatants in Nepal
In Nepal, a decade-long insurgency, led by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) continued till 2006, claimed more than 13,000 lives, and displaced thousands of people. Arguing that Nepal has...
View ArticleMyanmar: Conflicts over Land in a Time of Transition
Secure and just land tenure, and sound management of land and natural resources are crucial to easing conflicts between farmers, the State, and extractive industries. This paper underlines that Myanmar...
View ArticleMaking Pickles during a Ceasefire
Development projects in the North East are packaged as economic interventions to improve the lives of people, but are detached from militarised ground realities. These initiatives to rebuild...
View ArticlePeeling the Onion
Afghanistan's hope that market-driven agriculture will ensure its economic transformation demonstrates a wilful disregard of the links between the economic and political marketplaces in the country,...
View ArticleGold Monetisation Scheme for India
Currently India is the largest consumer and importer of gold in the world. Monetising the gold within the country is, therefore, important for macroeconomic stability, and requires a credible scheme...
View ArticleCorporate Taxes and Exemptions
In the Budget Speech the finance minister announced a phased reduction in the rate of corporate tax alongside a removal of exemptions. What is likely to be the differential impact on large and small...
View ArticleCorporate Capitalism in the Name of Social Security
The many schemes that have been announced in the name of social security are limited in scope and the quantum of security they prefer. The promotional schemes will also be linked to the market and will...
View ArticleFinance Commission's Recommendations and Restructured Fiscal Space
Since it is neither feasible nor desirable to reduce central grants to the states equivalent to the increase in tax devolution, the award of the Fourteenth Finance Commission is certainly not revenue...
View ArticleLong on Announcements, Short on Intent
The first full-year budget of the National Democratic Alliance government announced a sharp focus on investment, growth and social security. In addition, Budget 2015-16 claims to have given a boost to...
View ArticleInter-Sectoral Water Allocation and Conflicts
inter-sectoral; water; allocation; conflict; prioritisation; use; Rajsamand The law and policy frameworks for allocation or reallocation of water to different uses, or within a category of use, remain...
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