Applied Economics

From time to time, Kashmiri politicians have used Article 370 for unnecessarily stoking up hatred and anger against the Indian state. Mr Omar Abdullah has recently held out the threat of secession if article 370 is abrogated. The article argues that the special category status of Jammu & Kashmir carries much more significance for the state than the much diluted Article 370. Without the special category status, the State can’t survive.

Institutions have a life of their own, and once established, they cannot simply be wished away. If its replacement inherits any of the weaknesses that had made the Planning Commission such a dysfunctional but a growth-obstructing institution, its replacement will also continue to corrupt our governance system for a long time, like its predecessor. We ought to be very careful in resurrecting it in another form, without adequate thought and clarity about its intended role and purpose.

The “special category” status accorded to certain states in the Indian Union allowed for much higher per capita central assistance compared to other states to flow unto these states enabling some of them to march ahead and prompting demands from others for this status. But these special category states were backward due to reasons of geography, while for the states which are demanding this status today, issues linked to governance lay at the root of their backwardness. Is it time to revisit the criteria and include others into this exclusive category by excluding those who do not need such assistance any longer?

Independence, objectivity and reasonableness have always been the non-negotiable hallmarks of the CAG’s office since its inception and one can reasonably hope that these qualities will continue to define the institution in future, only if the politicians would leave it alone.