Rahul Mukherji

The successful implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in undivided Andhra Pradesh underlines the triumph of citizen formation over patron–client politics, aided by a democratic politics. This article argues that its success in Andhra Pradesh depended heavily on how the ideas within the rural development bureaucracy interacted with the political executive. This synergy engendered a state’s capacity to insulate a committed bureaucracy from powerful farmers and construction companies who had a clear interest in thwarting the programme. Elections can in a democracy elevate citizen concern over particularistic populism, when political will is matched by ideational conviction in the bureaucracy.

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Uttar Pradesh in the 1990s

Vol. 40, Issue No. 21, 21 May, 2005

Pradeep Sharma, Pralay Kanungo, Rahul Mukherji, Sudha Pai

Not only because of its size but also for historical reasons, Uttar Pradesh has always been a key state in the Indian union. Major political movements in independent India, including backward caste and dalit politics and the rise of Hindutva have largely developed here or have significantly impinged on it. Economic backwardness and political populism are among the factors intertwined with the recent history of Uttar Pradesh. Perspectives on many of these issues were explored in a recent seminar in Jawaharlal Nehru University.

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Privatisation, Federalism and Governance

Vol. 39, Issue No. 01, 03 Jan, 2004

Rahul Mukherji

This paper describes four features charactersing the political economy of India resulting from a serious engagement with the global economy in 1990s. It describes the convergence among major parties about the need for embracing global economic integration. This has necessitated gradual privatisation and the consequent need to regulate investment. The growing importance of private investment has produced the federal market economy, which has generated growth with inequality. Good governance in the backward states is especially critical for balanced development in the context of the federal market economy.