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1. Factsheet: Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh (HSS)

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh (HSS) is a right-wing Hindu non-profit organization registered in New Jersey. On its website, the group states its mission is “to organize a diverse and vibrant Hindu American society that can collectively address its challenges and contribute to the welfare of the world.” As of November 2023, HSS claims it has 220 Shakhas (branches) nationwide. HSS’s website venerates the early ideologues of Hindu nationalism, including those who praised Nazi Germany. Additionally, HSS has hosted prominent figures from the RSS, an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organization.
Topic:
Far Right, Hindu Nationalism, and Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh (HSS)
Political Geography:
India, North America, and United States of America

2. Factsheet: Narendra Modi

Author:
Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:
Narendra Damodardas Modi is the current Prime Minister of India. He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat during the deadly 2002 anti-Muslim pogroms in the state, and throughout his political career, he has promoted Hindu nationalist views. Under his leadership, India has experienced a rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes and hate speech, increasing polarization and violence in society, growing restrictions on the media, and the growth of Hindu nationalist groups. Critics and human rights experts have warned that under Modi’s leadership, democracy in India is under threat.
Topic:
Islamophobia, Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Hindutva, and Hindu Nationalism
Political Geography:
India and Gujarat

3. India-Russia Relations in Troubled Times: Steady but Stagnating

Author:
Aleksei Zakharov
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
Abstract:
This paper examines the trajectory of India-Russia relations post-February 2022. The war in Ukraine emerged as a significant challenge for bilateral ties, presenting new obstacles to political and diplomatic relations and intensifying the previous difficulties in developing economic cooperation. Moscow and New Delhi have demonstrated divergent approaches to the advancement of their strategic partnership. While Russia has rushed into reinventing the old friendship with India, the latter has acted with greater discretion. New Delhi has demonstrated a nuanced approach to navigating the Russia-Ukraine conflict, staying on good terms with Moscow and the West. India’s record imports of Russian crude and other commodities, at times in defiance of Western sanctions, have allowed for a considerable boost in bilateral trade. While this “oil connection” may benefit both the Indian and Russian economies, it should not be misperceived as a leap forward in partnership. The structural challenges appear to still prevent the two sides from reinvigorating the economic ties. Furthermore, their geopolitical understanding is waning, and their defense cooperation is currently in a state of limbo. As long as the war in Ukraine persists, India seems to be prioritizing maintaining the status quo in its relationship with Russia over pursuing new initiatives. This may help to prevent the two sides from drifting apart too far in the near term but is unlikely to lead to any substantive progress in their relationship.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Geopolitics, Vladimir Putin, and Narendra Modi
Political Geography:
Russia, South Asia, and India

4. Labour market inequality in two Asian giants Indonesia and India compared

Author:
Kunal Sen
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
We examine the nature of labour market inequality in Indonesia and India, using a common conceptual approach drawing from the job ladder framework. In the framework, we differentiate between self-employment and wage-informal and between formal, upper tier informal, and lower tier informal jobs. We find that both countries have a large proportion of workers in lower tier jobs, though the importance of wage-employment is larger in Indonesia. There are more workers in formal wage-employment in Indonesia than India. There are also sharp disparities in the earnings of workers in different tiers of the labour market in Indonesia and India, and there is limited evidence of convergence of the earnings of the lower tier informal workers to that of formal workers, at least for Indonesia. We also find that gender and educational level are important correlates of work status in both countries. Females and less educated workers occupy the lower tiers of the labour markets in the two countries.
Topic:
Employment, Inequality, Economy, Labor Market, and Informal Economy
Political Geography:
South Asia, Indonesia, India, and Asia

5. Poverty of Circumstances and Poverty of Opportunity

Author:
Anirudh Krishna and Sujeet Kumar
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Ordinary people in rural Bihar and in Patna and Delhi have virtually no opportunity to be tested for a hidden talent, be it for athletics or singing or chess or mathematics or art. Not one of more than 800 young people we interviewed has ever competed at the national, state or district level in any of eight activities of different kinds. Alternative careers pass them by. Future champions can remain unidentified and unrewarded. Something better is necessary to make equality of opportunity less a slogan and more a reality. Examples from across the world show what can be done.
Topic:
Poverty, Economic Inequality, and Opportunity
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

6. Cooperative Federalism in India: Statutory Regulatory Authorities and the Federal System in India

Author:
K. P. Krishnan, Amrita Pillai, and Karan Gulati
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Since the 1990s, there has been a marked expansion of the regulatory state in India. Statutory Regulatory Authorities (SRAs) are empowered to create and enforce regulations in their respective fields and often have the authority to issue licenses, conduct inspections, and take enforcement action against individuals or organisations that violate their regulations. This essay recognises the twin-deficit issue with SRAs in India. It focuses on the federal deficit issue and resists exploring the more obvious democratic deficit in them. Our analysis shows that over the twenty-three-year period between 1999 and 2022, the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) has reviewed 4 regulations by SRAs. For context, the securities regulator has issued 661 regulations since its inception in 1992. Such a federal deficit of a lack of State representation disallows decentralisation and restricts means for individuals and communities to have a greater say in the decisions that affect their lives.
Topic:
Governance, Regulation, Deficit, Domestic Policy, and Cooperative Federalism
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

7. Cooperative Federalism in India: Resetting the Fiscal Architecture: Lessons for India

Author:
Kandarp Patel and Anoop Singh
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant challenges to public finances, raising global debt to record-high levels and necessitating the suspension of fiscal rules across the globe. As we approach the aftermath of the pandemic, the challenge is to reset the pillars of the fiscal architecture and better manage public finances across all levels of government—as the lynchpin of any successful growth strategy in a post-pandemic world. This situation offers an opportunity to rethink fiscal rules and make fiscal policy more agile in responding to crises, without undermining fiscal sustainability. A risk-based medium-term fiscal framework that combines standards, rules, and strengthened institutions would strike a better balance between flexibility and credibility. Overall, for India to achieve its full potential for economic growth and development, it needs to improve the quality and efficiency of public spending and financial management across all levels of government. In doing this, India should consider moving toward a new principle-based fiscal strategy, complemented with public financial management reforms and setting up an independent fiscal institution. This process will need to be undertaken in close collaboration with the States.
Topic:
Finance, Economic Growth, COVID-19, and Public Debt
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

8. Cooperative Federalism in India: Towards an Inter-State Migration Council

Author:
Chinmay Tumbe
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Migration in India has tended to create friction—between the Union government and State governments, and between different State governments. This chapter reviews the nature of migration in India and its relationship with nativist sentiments and political conflicts. It argues for the establishment of an inter-State migration council, either nested within the existing framework of the Inter-State Council or led by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, that would uphold the constitutional provisions on mobility, lead on the collection and dissemination of statistics on inter-State migration, promote the portability of social security benefits, and work towards resolving migration-related disputes in the federal system
Topic:
Migration, Labor Issues, Employment, and Cooperative Federalism
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

9. Cooperative Federalism in India: Institutions of Political Migration: The Office of the Governor

Author:
Chakshu Roy and M. R. Madhavan
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Governors occupy a critical position in India’s constitutional framework as a critical mechanism through which tensions between the central and state governments can be negotiated and managed. In fact, their powers have grown over time as other institutions intended to foster centre-state cooperation and coordination have atrophied. This chapter documents the de jure powers and de facto workings of the office of the Governor since Independence in 1947. It reveals the continuing contestation over Governors’ independent decision-making, a matter which has been debated since the time of the Constituent Assembly. The unresolved matter of how Governors can independently exercise their discretion without acting, or being seeing to act, merely as instruments of the centre remains a vexed issue in the contemporary era.
Topic:
Migration, Institutions, Local Government, and Cooperative Federalism
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

10. Cooperative Federalism in India: The Adjudication of Federal Disputes

Author:
Raeesa Vakil
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
The Indian Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to adjudicate federal disputes, i.e. disputes between states, or between the centre and states. This jurisdiction has been rarely invoked – until recently. A group of new cases will require judges to re-examine doctrines that they have evolved to limit their own ability to adjudicate federal conflict, and consequently, will require the court to re-evaluate its own function within Indian federalism.
Topic:
Supreme Court, Disputes, and Cooperative Federalism
Political Geography:
South Asia and India