By K.N.Kumar

Elections are meant to be a clash of ideas, an opportunity for citizens to choose leaders who will shape a better future. But in many parts of the country, they’ve become the reverse – a race to offer the best freebies. From free electricity and farm loan waivers to gas cylinders, gold for weddings, washing machines, and even livestock like pigs and goats, elections have turned into a Bazaar of handouts. This is not about generosity; it is about making a mockery of the idea of democracy itself. I call this the ’Great Indian Vote Bizarre”.
A 2023 report from the Centre for Policy Research found that nearly 70% of election promises over the past decade included cash or goods to sway voters. In poorer states, where people are desperate for any relief, these short-term gifts often matter more than long-term plans for better schools, roads, or hospitals. The deeper problem isn’t just the freebies—it’s the way they turn democracy into a transaction, where votes are bought rather than earned. Political parties, struggling to stand out with clear ideas or trustworthy leaders, are leaning more on these freebies to win votes.

Machinery Behind the Handouts

Delivering freebies isn’t a simple task. It takes a massive system of government officials to figure out who gets what and make sure it’s handed out on time. But this system is often tangled up with politics. In states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, ruling parties paint public housing (constructed with the taxpayers’ money) in their party colours to remind people who is behind the gift. In Madhya Pradesh, ration cards with leaders’ faces started appearing just before elections. These tactics blur the line between public service and campaign advertising, making it hard to tell where welfare ends and politics begins.
This cocktail of aid and patronage creates “vote banks”—groups of people who feel loyal to a party not because of its vision, but because of what it hands out. The voter, meant to be the backbone of democracy, is now a customer in the election bazaar.

Heavy Cost of Freebies

These giveaways come with a hefty price tag. States like Punjab are spending nearly half their budgets on subsidies and paying off old debts, leaving little for essential services such as schools, hospitals, or new roads. Tamil Nadu keeps exceeding its budget limits, but that doesn’t stop leaders from announcing new schemes before every election. Politicians understand the economic consequences—empty state coffers or rising debt—won’t hit them until after the votes are counted, so they continue promising more. This creates a dangerous cycle. States are scared to raise taxes, because it might upset voters. A 2022 Reserve Bank of India report showed that states are collecting less internal revenue than they used to, relying instead on central government funds or borrowing. It’s populism over progress, short-term gifts over long-term growth.

Cash for Votes: An Open Secret

Today vote-buying is blatant. Despite being against the law, handing out cash, liquor, drugs, or even gold is common during elections, especially at the local and state levels. In 2021, during Tamil Nadu’s elections, the Election Commission seized over Rs 1,000 crore worth of bribes. Political workers distribute cash to voters just before polling day. Most people don’t report it—it is, after all, their share of a broken system. Many voters know the money comes from shady sources—often public funds meant for other things—but they take it anyway. For people struggling to make ends meet, a few hundred rupees can feel like a lifeline. This cycle of economic insecurity and distrust in politicians keeps the cash-for-vote system alive.
The government hoped technology would clean up this mess. Programmes like Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT), which use bank accounts, Aadhaar, and mobile phones, were supposed to make welfare fairer by cutting out corrupt middlemen. But politics still finds a way in. Before the 2023 Karnataka elections, the ruling party rolled out new cash schemes for women and youth, timed perfectly to influence votes. It showed how even modern tools can be twisted to serve old-fashioned vote-buying. Technology hasn’t broken the vote-buying economy—it’s just made it digital.

Why Voters Expect Handouts

Why do so many voters go along with this? Education plays a significant role. Studies show that better-educated people are less likely to be swayed by handouts and more likely to vote based on policies and performance. A 2021 study from Ashoka University’s Trivedi Centre found that states with higher literacy rates, like Kerala, have voters who care more about how well leaders govern. Kerala, with its 94% literacy rate, sees voters regularly switch parties, holding leaders accountable. But it’s not fair to call voters corrupt or greedy. In a country where many people struggle to access basic services like healthcare or clean water, handouts can feel like the only time the government pays attention. The problem is not that people want help—it’s that this help is dangled as a reward for votes instead of being a right.

The Dependency Trap

The most considerable harm of this system is how it changes what democracy means. A 2022 survey by Lokniti-CSDS found that over half of voters in five central states expected something—a cash payment, a freebie, or a favour—in return for their vote. Elections have become like auctions, with parties bidding higher and higher to win. Opposition parties, unable to match the ruling party’s cash, often make even bigger promises they can’t keep, hoping to outdo their rivals. This isn’t just about money—it’s about the soul of democracy. When politics is reduced to a game of giveaways, it’s hard to have real conversations about fixing big problems like poverty, unemployment, or crumbling infrastructure. Voters are treated like customers to be wooed with gifts, not citizens with a voice in shaping their country’s future. Policy becomes a series of flashy announcements, not a roadmap for real change.

How Other Countries Do It Differently

Not every democracy operates this way. In Scandinavian countries like Sweden or Denmark, welfare is extensive—covering free healthcare, education, and more—but it’s administered through stable, transparent systems that are independent of election cycles. In the U.S. and U.K., campaign promises often centre on jobs, taxes, or economic growth, though populism is beginning to influence these areas too. India’s approach stands out because it uses poverty as a weapon. India’s “first-past-the-post” election system is part of the problem. In this setup, a candidate only needs more votes than their rivals to win, even if it’s just a slight edge. This pushes parties to focus on quick, targeted handouts to sway a few key voters in close races. India’s system rewards short-term tricks. With so many parties and voters split by caste, religion, and region, a small gift can swing just enough votes to win.

And, how do we reverse it?

India’s democracy shouldn’t feel like a cash machine spitting out favours. The current system rewards short-term bribes over authentic leadership and turns voters into deal-seekers instead of active citizens with a stake in their country’s future. To fix this, India needs more than budget reforms or stricter election rules—it needs a new way of thinking about what voting means. Changing the election system to reward broader, long-term plans might push parties to focus on progress over populism. Until that happens, the Great Indian Vote Bazaar will thrive. Parties will continue to win elections with votes that have lost all meaning.

Tourism Without Limits

By Nicholas Jason Iangrai

A week ago, I came across an Instagram reel shared by the proprietor of a local tour company. He wrote: “We do not usually disclose the location of any place that is new or not known to many people. There are several places we explore ourselves, but we often choose not to post pictures, make reels, or create content simply to gain followers or likes. This is because, even if you do not reveal the exact location, once a reel of a place goes up on the internet, within a few weeks or months you will see so-called influencers, waterfall chasers, and travellers rushing to these spots.”
It was refreshing to read this because it provoked a thought I’ve carried with me for a long time. Too often, a hidden spot remains pristine until it blows up on Instagram. Then, almost overnight, footfalls multiply and what was once a serene corner becomes crowded, polluted, and in danger of losing the very essence that made it special.
Tourism undeniably brings jobs and income. As a labour-intensive service industry, it has opened opportunities for guides, home-stay owners, and local food and beverage operators, among countless others who rely on visitors for their livelihoods. Especially in our state, where the sector has a significant impact on the economy, tourist arrivals have steadily increased over time, but as with any fast-growing sector, the question we must ask is: at what cost?
The Meghalaya Tourism Policy 2023 itself recognises this fragility. Its very first core guiding principle is Sustainable and Responsible Tourism, which explicitly acknowledges that Meghalaya lies in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and therefore requires thoughtful care. Under this, the Policy speaks of respecting the carrying capacity of destinations. The UN World Tourism Organization defines this as “the maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic, and socio-cultural environment, and without an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors’ satisfaction.”
Yet despite this principle being laid down, what we see on the ground is often the opposite: places are being pushed beyond their natural limits. In many cases, it has been the Dorbar Shnong and community members who have had to step in by regulating entry, setting fees, or even temporarily closing areas to protect them.
A striking example is the canyon-like rock formations at Mawrah village in Khat-ar Shnong Laitkroh block. The spot exploded last year in popularity after Instagram reels showcased its dramatic landscape. Within weeks, the village decided to temporarily restrict entry simply to give the land a chance to breathe and to deliberate on safeguards for the future. It was a firm reminder that while social media may create instant fame, it rarely accounts for long-term sustainability.
This concern was also raised by Emica Nongkynrih in a letter to the editor (The Shillong Times, August 26, 2025). She questioned whether the government, while promoting tourism through festivals, ropeways, skywalks and other attractions, has considered the strain this puts on our infrastructure and people’s daily lives. Roads in areas like Kenches Trace, Lawsohtun, or Lumparing are already congested. How will they bear the added traffic and parking pressure from projects like the ropeway? As she noted, even a single football match or music show can throw Shillong off balance. Now imagine that on a much larger and permanent scale. The bigger question she posed was whether our infrastructure and planning are moving in tandem with our ambitions, or whether we are rushing ahead blindly.
The issue is not merely ecological. It is also cultural and social. Villages that possess these natural assets are rarely involved in planning how tourism should unfold in their backyards. More often than not, they are left to clean up the mess, both literal and figurative, while outsiders benefit from content creation or short-term business. Many travel agencies, based in the city or even outside the state, operate independently without involving villagers. This sidelines communities from decision-making, leaving them as passive recipients instead of active stakeholders. In reality, villagers should be at the very forefront of tourism, not treated as mere beneficiaries.
Khonoma Village in Nagaland provides the most compelling example. Once known for hunting, it transformed into India’s first “Green Village” through community-driven conservation. This model demonstrates exactly what we need here: community custodianship and ownership. All conservation and tourism activities are carried out by the local community and village institutions formed under the guidance of the Village Council. Bodies such as the Khonoma Youth Organisation and Eco-Tourism Management Committees are actively involved in decision-making, with the authority to even grant certain permissions or impose fines. This shows how a village, by placing itself at the centre of planning, can balance livelihoods with preservation.
This is why the conversation must shift from “eco-tourism” as a fashionable label to actual mechanisms of controlled and restricted tourism. Eco-tourism, when left unchecked, too often becomes a convenient tagline to justify business as usual.
Villagers know their land best—they understand how much it can take, when it needs rest, and what rules are necessary to protect it. Community custodianship, then, is not just about conservation but also about empowerment, ensuring that those who live closest to the land are also its strongest defenders, economically and socially. Meghalaya does not need to look far for proof: Mawlynnong village has successfully managed tourism growth while maintaining its environmental standards, with systematic measures like visitor counters at entrances, rules explained to tourists, and robust waste management.
The state already has the policy framework, successful regional examples, and strong community structures to build on. The path forward lies in trusting communities, so that tourism benefits both the land and local livelihoods, rather than being driven by external promotion at the expense of people and the environment. Initiatives like the Tourist Buddy Scheme, launched by the Tourism Department in 2024, are encouraging in this regard, especially as they engage local youth. Yet their impact will depend on how far communities are truly given the authority to guide tourism, rather than merely participate. The scheme is currently rolling out at select prime locations, but Meghalaya has numerous tourist spots, many of them in remote areas. Scaling it will be challenging, which is why Meghalaya’s future in tourism depends on a community-led approach above all else.