| One of the many powerful political slogans of Narendra Modi’s BJP in state election campaigns has been the ‘double-engine’ government. But does it really give better performance and growth? Nilakantan RS wrote that at its heart, this rhetorical argument corrupts the equilibrium, which is the bedrock of federalism. But then, he goes on to look at the data. It reveals no correlation between economic growth and the governments. Generally, the well-performing states that are on a trajectory of growth do well, regardless of the political party in power.
Here’s a counter-intuitive piece from DK Singh. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been on a roll — banning magical healing practices, clamping down on the Muslim Marriage Act, reviling ‘Miya’ or Bengali-speaking Muslims, launching eviction drives allegedly targeting the Muslims, and converting government-run madrasas into general schools. Is this going to please Prime Minister Modi? He wrote that Modi likes those who use their passion for Hindutva as tadaka or seasoning and use development as the main ingredient.
Dilip Mandal wrote a strong rebuttal to the arguments posed by the viral YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. PM Modi is anything but a dictator and he cited instances when he couldn’t pass laws. He didn’t railroad them. He chose to stop pursuing them instead.
West Bengal’s political landscape has rarely come under radical interrogation from its rural margin, wrote Subhajit Naskar & Suvajit Mondal. The small village of Sandeshkhali has busted that myth. The protest by the SC/ST women in Sandeshkhali should be seen as a radical arrival of the periphery to the mainstream.
In Ground Reports, Vandana Menon continues her series on the hot-button issue of how Hindu temples should be administered. After Tamil Nadu, she turns her attention to the mixed model that Uttarakhand follows in its temples.
In the brave new world of dating apps, fatigue is already setting in, wrote Sabah Gurmat. There is endless swiping, ghosting, mismatched expectations and fraud. So, the apps are now organising singles mixers and helping them go back to old-fashioned physical meetings, flirtation and romance. She attended a mixer and reported from there.
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