Pratap Bhanu Mehta is vice-chancellor of Ashoka University. He was earlier president, Centre Policy Research, New Delhi, one of India's top think tanks. Before he started engaging with contemporary affairs, he taught political theory at Harvard, and briefly at JNU. He has written extensively on intellectual history, political theory, law, India's social transformation and world affairs. He is the recipient of the Infosys Prize, the Adisheshiah Prize and the Amartya Sen Prize.
Congress manifesto lays out a plan for resisting populism
In a context where the populist temptation would have been to act as if India is besieged by enemies round every corner, the manifesto gives a sense of a liberal democracy calmly going about its business confidently, without stigmatising its own citizens.
Election manifestos are usually dull documents. By their very logic, they promise everyone something. They are the last slivers of a dull utopianism which construct a world where not many tough choices have to be made: There is a scheme or a policy for everyone. But they often elicit a yawn because by themselves they do not address the core political question: What is the credibility of the party making the promises? In an electorate that is used to having its hopes disappointed, there is always a sense that the real action is outside the manifesto. A manifesto can unwittingly turn into a reminder of past betrayals.
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