Why is there an unfair treatment in the first place? Nilakantan finds the flaw in how our democracy is designed; wherein states with higher population get higher representation, and ultimately have higher influence in the formulation and implementation of policies. The author advocates for radical decentralisation as a means to optimise Indian democracy and to make sure that states get the required autonomy in executing policies specific to their requirements. In an interaction with Outlook Business, Nilakantan RS reiterates his call for a decentralised democracy so that southern states are treated fairly within the context of the federal union. Edited excerpts:
In your book, you've drawn a connection between the relatively prosperous states and their low population growth rate. At the same time, you have not mentioned the factor of migrant labourers, who are majorly from the highly populous states. How do you view the contributions made by North Indian migrant labourers in the economies of the peninsular states?