India, Jan. 2 -- The passage of a resolution in the Punjab assembly opposing the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, along with sustained commentary warning of a "body blow to federalism", has brought India's rural employment framework back into sharp public focus. At a first glance, the objections appear compelling: A rights-based legal guarantee is being altered, states fear erosion of autonomy, and a long-standing welfare architecture is being recast. These concerns deserve careful engagement rather than dismissal. But they also require scrutiny against administrative evidence and lived outcomes.

At its core, the controversy is not about whether rural employment should be a legal right - that principl...