India freeing itself slowly from Delhi

[T]he very idea of ‘national’ is becoming irrelevant in India [..] The political supremacy of New Delhi and the central government is being challenged by state governments and other regional forces [..]

About three months ago, when the Indian government decided to allow 100 percent foreign investment in single-brand retail stores, several regional governments refused to implement the policy because they wanted to protect small businesses in their states. Also, the central government has been unable to push through its plan for a national anti-terrorism agency because some states are unwilling to make their own law enforcement agencies subordinate to such a central authority.

There was a time when the chief ministers of the states would arrive in the capital like indebted peasants to plead for funds from the masters of Delhi, but now they simply raise a stink when they don’t get enough. It appears that every fortnight or so the authority of the center, even its common sense and credibility, are publicly challenged by the states.

A major reason for this is that the Indian National Congress, which heads the alliance that forms the Indian government, has been diminished. The supremacy of the center made sense when the Congress party was at the height of its powers both in Delhi and in several states. But the party has lost power in many of its traditional strongholds, and with the spectacular rise of regional parties, national is not what it used to be.