The fake 'freebie' debate

The model of state government-led provision of welfare is under sustained attack, and that's not good news for India

One reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ability to define the national agenda is that even apparently throwaway remarks of his turn into weeks-long debates that seem capable of overturning a national consensus. Just over a month ago, Mr Modi, at the inauguration of the Bundelkhand Expressway, drew a distinction between his political party, which he said builds airports and roads, and others that give things away for free. Since then, discussions about “revadi” culture (in Hindi) or “freebies” (the very inexact and quite irritating English translation of the term) have grown more intense. Even the Supreme Court has gotten