The pandemic and the state: Interrogating capacity and response to COVID-19 in West Bengal

Mahmood, Zaad; Chakraborty, Ayan

doi:10.35188/unu-wider/2022/223-2

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…• West Bengal's initial struggles with its pandemic response were similar to many other states, due to inadequate health infrastructure and access to PPEs. Subsequently, however, state assembly elections in March-April 2021 became a major factor, not only in campaigning, but also earlier, with relaxation of social distancing in the festival season to appeal to voters (Mahmood and Chakraborty, 2022).…”

Section: Evaluating the Federal Dimensions Of Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Federal Dimensions of India's Response to the Covid Pandemic

Singh

2023

IPPR

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This paper examines India’s responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, from the perspective of its federal structures. It first summarizes different institutional components of India’s federal system. Next, it outlines the responses to the pandemic, both over time, and across different levels of government. The main contribution of the paper is a new evaluation of the federal dimensions of India’s governmental responses at different levels. It is argued that, while the national government did well in some respects, and there was considerable coordination across levels of government, there were key failures, both in the manner of the initial abrupt and drastic national lockdown in March 2020, and in the lack of preparation and national response to the deadlier second wave of the pandemic in 2021. By contrast, subnational governments, both state and local, did better than might have been expected, especially in the face of limited resources and information. It is argued that India’s pandemic experience contradicts the “flailing state” idea that was devised to explain the country’s governmental performance in recent decades. The paper also questions the applicability of the concept of “cooperative federalism” to the Indian case. It argues that India’s federal system proved quite resilient, but can be made more effective by strengthening capacity at the local level.

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Section: Evaluating the Federal Dimensions Of Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Federal Dimensions of India's Response to the Covid Pandemic

Singh

2023

IPPR

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“…As compared to the ‘party society’ practised under the Left Front (Bhattacharyya, 2016), the TMC regime has sought to combine party dominance and patronage with a slew of social welfare policies (Kanyashree, KhadyaSathi (food-security-related free ration) and SwasthaSathi (health card) that cater to the rural and urban poor. Distinctly, these policies are devised and designed by bureaucrats and are quite top-down and technocratic in implementation (Mahmood & Chakraborty, 2022). Political impact of the Kanyashree programme coupled with the new initiative of ‘student credit card’ programme (loan scheme for education for students from government itself) from the Covid-19 period is now very deep-rooted.…”

Section: Kanyashree Programme—critical Estimatementioning

confidence: 99%

Caring Administration with Gender-centricity: Interrogating Kanyashree Programme in West Bengal

Chattopadhyay

2023

Indian Journal of Public Administration

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Gender remains an important issue area in governance in post-colonial democracies like India, which have a long past of patriarchal social structure. In West Bengal even after thirty-four years of continuous Left Front rule, gender never became the mainstay of Bengal politics. Trinamul Congress government in West Bengal from 2011 addressed the issue of gender parity perspective. During the period of Mamata Banerjee, as Chief Minister, women candidates were fielded in large numbers while girls were also encouraged to be economically self-dependent and socially aware. Taking policy perspective of women’s empowerment, this article deals with Kanyashree programme. Experience of the last ten years indicates that social violence against women and empowerment-centric progammes go together in creating a puzzle regarding awards received by GoWB on women-centric programmes. This article argues that the degree of inclusiveness of Kanyashree dodges initial politicisation, gradual normalisation and recurring criticisms and translates ‘development as freedom’ in practice in a highly politicised democratic milieu of our time.

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The pandemic and the state: Interrogating capacity and response to COVID-19 in West Bengal

Abstract: This paper has been prepared as part of the UNU-WIDER research initiative on COVID-19 impact and policy response across Indian States, which is a component of the project The state and statebuilding in the Global South -international and local interactions.

Cited by 2 publications

References 15 publications

Federal Dimensions of India's Response to the Covid Pandemic

Federal Dimensions of India's Response to the Covid Pandemic

Caring Administration with Gender-centricity: Interrogating Kanyashree Programme in West Bengal

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