Caged Tiger | Subhashish Bhadra

What is common between the censorship of the film Padmaavat and artificially high 'minimum' support prices for crops ?

If the police comes down so heavily on peaceful anti-CAA protestors, why did it not show the same harshness towards those violating the COVID-19 lockdown? Why is an otherwise powerful Election Commission unable to enforce free and fair elections within political parties or fully weed out criminals from politics? The common factor is faulty institutional design, which is eating away at the foundations of our society and weakening the vision of our Constitution. Leaders come and go, but institutions stay forever.

Only a consistent focus on better institutions can help India have a more robust economy, media, polity, parliament, internet, government schemes and cultural life. Yet, discussions on institutions have been restricted to academic circles. Keeping aside the ideological bias of Left or Right, Caged Tiger brings alive the rich yet unseen story of India's institutions, right from independence day. It combines deep research and complex frameworks, converting them into the vocabulary and cultural context of millennials and Gen Z.

It goes all the way back to the British Raj, exploring the origins of institutions that shape governance in India. Tracing additions by subsequent governments, from Nehru's to Modi's, it identifies public policies that keep Indians suppressed and how each of us can change them. It is, in short, young India's guide to becoming smarter about the issues that matter.