1. COMPLACENCY

2. Complacent bureaucracy India’s bane,
says British professor
• Bigotry, centralised power of some chief ministers and a complacent and non-
responsive bureaucracy are some of the negatives of the Indian state, a British
professor said Monday.
• “Prevalence of violence and bigotry, centralised power of some chief ministers,
and a complacent and non-responsive bureaucracy are some of the negatives of
the Indian state,” said James Manor, professor at Institute of Commonwealth
Studies, University of London, while delivering a lecture on „The Best and
Worst of the Indian State‟ at the Jamia Millia Islamia here.
• Listing the positives of the country, Manor said there has been redistribution of
power after 1989 from the Prime Minister‟s Office to institutions like the
courts, the Election Commission and the presidency.
• “Redistribution of political power after 1989 helped India build political
institutions. The prime ministers used to abuse power before that,” he said. “In
comparison, there was more abuse of power by prime ministers in the United
Kingdom post-1989.”

3. • Manor said India is more capable than any of the countries in Africa,
Asia or Latin America to build political institutions.
• Observing that the post-1989 period was marked by “cautious
liberalisation”, Manor said the Indian state today retains significant
power, which makes political corruption such a big issue.
• Mentioning that social-democratic policies, pursued by the central
governments since economic liberalisation 1991, have started to
gain ground in the country, Manor added that the trend may not
prevail for long.
• Pointing at an interesting trend during 1989-1994, he said around 70
percent of the state governments faced anti-incumbency, a high by
global standards.
• “After 2009, the state governments were mostly re-elected as public
spending went up to gain popularity,” said Manor.