There are strenuous difficulties in managing competing social groups, segments and regions in the political landscape of Karnataka. These difficulties have been accentuated by touchy issues of status, including preoccupation with personal honor and the desire for respect. Politicians, at either...

This paper examines changes that have (and have not) occurred – at the village level in Karnataka where most or the state’s residents live, and at higher levels when they impinge upon villages – since 1972. Substantial changes have occurred on many (though certainly not all)...

The paper examines corruption in the institutions of local government in Karnataka, using a Logit model. One of the arguments in favour of decentralisation in developing countries is that it provides a favourable environment to responsive planning, and promotes greater accountability in the...

How has the political leadership in Karnataka contributed to the state's economic developmet? In order to assess the role that the political leadership has played, the author examines the role of the chief ministers in influencing the pace and quality of development of a state. The paper looks...

The objective of this paper is to unpack the dynamics of local governance in Karnataka by studying the interaction between two sets of rural institutions, (a) the formal, elected Gram Panchayats(GPs), mandated by the 73rd amendment to the Indian Constitution in 1992, that typically cover a group...