Land acquisition in India: The political-economy of changing the law

This article examines the contentious issue of land acquisition in India, focusing on the deeply regressive system in operation from independence to the mid-2000s that caused wipeouts for millions of families, the flash of resistance to acquisitions starting around 2006-2007, the creation of a new law in 2013 to enhance justice and rights, and an attempt in 2014-2015 to amend that new law. The central questions that arise from this process are: why did a regressive system last so long? and, why did it die in the last decade? These are best answered in a political-economy framework in which increasing political competition has challenged the electoral mathematics of ‘majoritarianism’ and increased the viability of ‘wedge issue’ politics.