ISAS Working Papers

During the demanding years following a century and half of economic stagnation during colonial rule, India has changed progressively from a colonial, agrarian economy into one where services and manufacturing have overtaken agriculture in terms of sectoral contribution to GDP. The country’s democratic institutions have held their own. They have generated the political momentum that reinforces reform without upsetting the democratic and judicial due processes. Many had maintained that radical changes in India’s economy and welfare would be unlikely as long as both are constrained by the liberal democratic constitution and the capitalist mode of production.3 India has defied the general norm. However, the robust confidence in long-term, sustainable growth that one finds in sections of India’s corporate sector has its critics. The diversity of India’s political economy and the complex role of the state in balancing growth and justice call for a nuanced analysis. This paper analyses how India has coped with the dilemma of ‘democratic’ land reforms – a key component of the Indian model of economic growth versus social justice – the policy paralysis this has given rise to, and the possible solution to what appears as a conundrum.