The 2004 general election in India and its aftermath

In early 2004 India confirmed that coalition governments are the staple for sometime to come. This article examines the events leading to the general election and thereafter. It contends that there are several forces that will tax the new United Progressive Alliance led by the Congress Party which itself is ridden with many internal squabbles. Among the coalition partners, the Communist Party of India, which tends to be ideological in making its presence felt without accepting any responsibility by being a part of the government, can possibly be the worst threat to stability. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which does not seem to have come to terms with its defeat, seems to be obstructionist rather than being a “loyal opposition”. There are also several major issues of governance such as corruption and “tainted” Ministers which the new government has to deal with. Thus, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wears the mantle of government rather precariously, and with an uncertain future.     

Coalition Politics in India: 2004–2009

Abstract

It is posited here that the coalition imperative of holding the alliances together just to keep in office leads to behavior that is not altogether ethically acceptable. This is not to say that all coalitions are bad by definition; they are not. The issue is: how many partners and what the minimum understanding among them are ideal to run the government? It is suggested that a large and unprincipled coalition on the one hand would debilitate a government, and on the other lead to political corruption and even blackmail. Contrarily, a smaller number of parties with some affinity in ideology and a common purpose would be beneficial for a stable democracy. To glean some insights, the United Progressive Alliance coalitions cobbled together by the Congress Party Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2004, and consequent to the 2009 elections, are studied here.     

Self‐Strangulation Turning into Partial Hanging for a Suicide Victim

Hanging is the most common asphyxial method of suicide, whereas suicide by strangulation is unusual. Here, we are reporting a particular methodology of the asphyxial method of suicide in which a case of self‐strangulation culminated into partial hanging. A 30‐year‐old male wrapped one end of the cable wire around his neck. He then passed the other end over a curtain rod and tied that end around the right hand. He pulled the hand down, using the curtain rod as a fulcrum, to tighten the noose around the neck in an attempt to strangulate himself. However, he lost consciousness during the process and the body slipped down, pulling the right hand up which got stuck at the curtain rod. This led the body hanged in the kneeling position. This bizarre scenario raised suspicion of homicide but the crime scene, autopsy and victim characteristics were in favor of suicide.     

Emprising revival of Telangana power sector: Analysis from an Indian state

The paper discusses the new 24‐hr power supply to agricultural sector scheme of Telangana state in India. The first of its kind scheme that is fully funded by the state government set a new example for agrarian states in India. The paper explains the energy demand and supply management, fiscal and infrastructural preparedness of the scheme along with environmental concerns. The primary survey report from two villages testifies people's aspirations about the new scheme. Rational power consumption by farmers is identified as key factor of this scheme that will enable government to overcome challenges on sustainability of the scheme.     

A Case of Accidental Fatal Aluminum Phosphide Poisoning Involving Humans and Dogs

Aluminum phosphide is one of the commonest poisons encountered in agricultural areas, and manner of death in the victims is often suicidal and rarely homicidal or accidental. This paper presents an unusual case, where two humans (owner and housemaid) and eight dogs were found dead in the morning hours inside a room of a house, used as shelter for stray dogs. There was allegation by the son of the owner that his father had been killed. Crime scene visit by forensic pathologists helped to collect vital evidence. Autopsies of both the human victims and the dogs were conducted. Toxicological analysis of viscera, vomitus, leftover food, and chemical container at the crime scene tested positive for aluminum phosphide. The cause of death in both humans and dogs was aluminum phosphide poisoning. Investigation by police and the forensic approach to the case helped in ascertaining the manner of death, which was accidental.     

Vulnerabilities of Institutional Checks in Indian Federalism: The Case of the Adarsh Society Scam in Mumbai

In developing countries, separation of powers coexists with corruption by the ruling elite. This can be attributed to informal institutions, which counter the formal checks and balances. We demonstrate, by studying the Adarsh scam, the vulnerabilities of checks and balances. Fourteen actors belonging to different tiers of the Indian federal setup who could have vetoed the project or certain permissions failed to do so.We find that 54 percent of the checks collapsed because of quid pro quo, 21 percent due to being overridden, 4 percent due to misrepresentation, 7 percent due to absorption, and 14 percent due to omissions in the process.     

Gaining Access to Public Services and the Democratic State in India: Institutions in the Middle

How and to what extent do different citizens experience democratic governance on a day-to-day basis? What agencies do they utilize in order to have their voices heard and grievances addressed? How do they gain access to government agencies responsible for delivering social welfare services, such as education, security, health care, and poverty relief? Investigations conducted in two states of India inquired about the manner in which different social groups living in rural areas gain access to the welfare services of the Indian state. These results show that an intermediary is required for gaining access. Different types of intermediaries are consulted by separate segments of society. For a large majority of poorer individuals, a newly arisen type of mediator, the naya neta (literally, new leader), is the intermediary of choice. Neither usually low status nor high status, but younger and better educated than other types of village leaders, naya netas play important roles in shaping welfare consequences in these villages of Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, most importantly, by affecting equity of access.     

Does the IMF cause civil war? A comment

The global economic downturn has heightened concerns about intervention by global financial institutions and political stability. One prominently-published article purports to show that signing on to an IMF structural adjustment program (SAP) increases the risk of civil war, Hartzell et al. (International Organization 64:339–56, 2010). The authors claim that IMF SAPs push liberalization, which hurts people badly enough that they foment civil war. We advance the debate by critically examining their theoretical and empirical evidence, particularly questioning their crucial assumptions about the impact of IMF programs on the economic environment in terms of who actually wins and loses from liberalization and who might be in a position to rebel. Using their data, we find that signing on to an IMF program predicts the onset of a civil war negatively if one uses a lower threshold of 25 deaths when defining civil war. These results suggest that the operationalization of the IMF variable as well as the use of large-scale civil war (1,000 deaths and above) simply capture the effect of ongoing conflict rather than the effects of liberalization. After extending the time period under study and making only minor changes to operationalization, we find that at no time does IMF involvement successfully predict the onset of a civil war.