Editorial Note, Jul-Aug, 2021

To mark the completion of 25 years since the initiation of the decentralised planning experiment in Kerala, this issue leads with an article by Thomas
Isaac who played a leading role in that movement since its inception. Beginning with a discussion distinguishing the neoliberal and radical perspectives on decentralised planning, the article explores how Kerala’s People’s Plan campaign enabled and sustained grassroots participation in local decision-making and the planning process. This was not the result of a one-shot implementation of a prepared blueprint but the outcome of a process of learning that led to a continuous modification of the theory and design of planning. This made the process as important as the outcome. Revisiting that experience, the article maps out new directions for the strengthening of the structure that delivers successful democratic decentralisation in the political and economic spheres.