Land reforms in China after Mao led to a surge in food production, which in turn led to its rise to global prominence. In the mid-sixties, smarting under Lyndon Johnson’s directive that food be sent to India “by the shipload” so that she may be “kept on a short leash”, Indira Gandhi moved frenetically to increase food production in India. A far firmer base of food production would be one aspect of this. Public policy is likely to adapt only if political parties are pressurised by a citizenry alerted to the limits to distributivism. When such synergy is replicated across the State, its future Chief Ministers need not travel to Delhi seeking food.

Source: The Hindu March 01, 2017 18:40 UTC