The irony of small states in India (Neera Chandoke, South Asia Monitor)

The political crisis in Uttarakhand and subsequent developments have once again catapulted a number of rather familiar questions onto the political terrain. These range from political instability, to what was once inelegantly called ‘horse-trading’, to the containment capacity of the anti-defection law, to the regrettable tendency of parties controlling the Central government to inexorably expand their writ. There is, however, another concern that needs to be registered in this context, the readiness of State leaders to violate their own obligations as representatives of the political public, and vitiate democracy.

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