In three years the UPA has triggered two undesirable shifts. First, in reopening the reservations issue to consolidate its minority vote, the Government has unleashed aspirations which can only be met through savage social disruption. The Gujjar disturbances in Rajasthan may be a portent of things to come. Second, by unleashing a wave of profligate and non-productive welfare schemes, the Government has diverted resources away from infrastructure - the building blocks of the future. At the same time, it has put economic populism back on the agenda. It now seems certain that a future coalition will manufacture yet more welfare schemes that will end up imposing an unacceptable burden on the productive sectors of the economy. The explosive blend of adventurism and instability could well nullify all the gains India has made in the past 15 years.
