India, Feb. 21 -- Federalism and separation of powers are among the most important tenets of India's constitutional framework. A sound fiscal state, while a later addition to the statute, is the bulwark without which the nation's well-being will be threatened. Each of the three is indispensable for the country's stability and long-term well-being. However, these first principles do not guarantee that the three will not be in conflict with each other. In fact, we have entered an age where this conflict is becoming the norm rather than the exception. The Supreme Court's outburst on Thursday - observations rather than a decree - against the so-called "freebie" culture in the country, while hearing a case filed by the Tamil Nadu government defending its right to provide subsidised power, is one such example. The matter reached the Court because a central law prohibits the Tamil Nadu government from continuing to provide subsidised power. The law is for the greater good. Power subsidies and their fiscal overhang are systemic problems facing state finances in India. However, the larger world of what the Court termed "freebies" is not exactly within judicial purview. This is because governments, whether at the Centre or the state level, are free to choose how they spend their money, provided they adhere to fiscal norms, which continue to focus on headline deficits for states. This has led to a proliferation of debt-financed doles and the substitution of expenditure useful in the long run with spending that delivers immediate populist rewards. The problem, as the justices rightly pointed out, is party- and region-agnostic now. Outbursts aside, courts should stay away from this issue if they want to respect the separation of powers. The Centre could very well tweak the law to expand the universe of fiscal rules for the states, but such a law will further squeeze the fiscal autonomy of the states, which has already been curtailed in the post-GST world. Then there is also the persisting heartburn among the richer (mostly southern) states about the disproportionate burden they carry to sustain the principle of equity in India's fiscal federalism. A lot of central taxes, raised in richer states, are diverted to poorer states to help them cover their "income distance", as the Finance Commission calls it. The problem seems like a genuine dilemma where one (federal autonomy) cannot be protected without sacrificing the other (fiscal prudence). Status quo will only make things worse. So, what is to be done? Politically convenient acts of trying to prioritise one cause without the other will definitely not help. Opportunism or hypocrisy, where deviants of one kind are flogged while the others are left scot-free, will only worsen the heartburn and trust deficit. What is needed for a true resolution of the problem is a fundamental change in politics, rather than throwing rules at a problem that has its origins in political economy. India is at the cusp of becoming the third-largest economy in the world. But many Indians are very far from even basic economic security. "Freebies" are the palliative that politicians have discovered to postpone the day of reckoning as far as this asymmetry is concerned. With technologies such as AI knocking on the door, the gap between overall growth and mass fortunes will only widen in the future. Politics, and more importantly, democracy must reinvent itself to manage this problem. Outbursts and grandstanding, even if well-intentioned, will not help. What is needed is a sincere introspection and statesmanship....