Smita Gupta

The interests of both the State and the Maoists are served by reducing the complex and many-layered tragedy unfolding in the forests of Dantewada to a battle between Good and Evil. For the Maoists, the people are subordinate to the revolution; for the government, the people are a minor expendable detail in the mineral-rich territory they live in. A report after a visit to the area in January-February.

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BSP at the Crossroads

Vol. 44, Issue No. 26-27, 27 Jun, 2009

Smita Gupta

A cautionary tale lies behind the Bahujan Samaj Party's less than expected performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. The party frittered away its sarvajan support gained in the 2007 assembly elections because of the manner in which this social coalition was stitched, subsuming caste contradictions for mere arithmetic addition of support to the party. Also playing a role in the defeat were the negative perceptions among the electorate of Mayawati's rule as chief minister.

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The Congress' Surprise in Uttar Pradesh

Vol. 44, Issue No. 22, 30 May, 2009

Smita Gupta

The revival of Congress' fortunes in Uttar Pradesh has been surprising, if not entirely unexpected. This article looks at the nature of the Congress victories in the State and tries to identify the principal reasons thereof. The continued organisational weakness is also identified as a possible stumbling block for further growth.

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The Muslim Mood in Uttar Pradesh

Vol. 44, Issue No. 20, 16 May, 2009

Smita Gupta

In these troubled times for the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh, the community had to take some difficult decisions in the Lok Sabha elections. Disillusioned by all parties, the community may have in the end resorted to tactical voting to keep out the Bharatiya Janata Party, but the formation of two new Muslim parties indicates a strong desire to consolidate the votes of this minority group.

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The Muslims of Uttar Pradesh

Vol. 42, Issue No. 23, 09 Jun, 2007

Smita Gupta

Despite extreme provocation from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh, under the guidance of a new and enlightened leadership, held their peace in the recent assembly elections. While their first choice remained the Samajwadi Party, they contributed to the Bahujan Samaj Party's success as well; the UP vidhan sabha will also now have the largest ever number of Muslim legislators since independence.

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Fiscal Policy and Development in Madhya Pradesh

Vol. 40, Issue No. 17, 23 Apr, 2005

Smita Gupta

The greatest damage of the influence of neo-liberal macroeconomic advice from the Asian Development Bank is its emphasis on 'self-sufficient' state governments exercising 'fiscal discipline'. Obviously wasteful expenditure is a bad thing. State governments must reduce the slack in resource mobilisation and expenditure. This however is not the fundamental problem for Madhya Pradesh today. The problem is that MP has too little public investment and a low growth of state income, etc. There is little merit in the argument in favour of a smaller or zero fiscal deficit, if the spending is aimed towards increasing state income and employment.