Politics

This article seeks to analyse how Bihar’s prohibition policy is oscillating between hypocrisy and moralism and how the act of ban is turning out to be a big failure, legally and socially, because of illicit liquor selling and rising consumption. Farces in the name of prohibition are choking the legal structure and jail system because of a huge number of cases related to violations of liquor laws.

Dreamscapes that provide an alternative to right-wing politics cannot be imagined but need to be realised.

In addition to the three-pillar framework suggested by the Fifteenth Finance Commission, we suggest four constituents, namely the finance commission, NITI Aayog, goods and services tax, and de facto decentralisation, which will help strengthen the “cooperative” element—a key factor for Indian federation to work effectively. Further, the article focuses on finance commissions empowering the local governments and, in particular, assesses the Fifteenth Finance Commission’s thrust to empower the local bodies.

The Dravidian Model: Interpreting the Political Economy of Tamil Nadu by A Kalaiyarasan and M Vijayabaskar, Cambridge University Press, 2021; pp 260.

Waiting for Swaraj: Inner Lives of Indian Revolutionaries by Aparna Vaidik, Cambridge University Press, 2021; pp 240, `795.