Swaminathan Aiyar, in his column, holds fort on all that he thinks encapsulates the “good, the bad and the ugly” of Indian economic reforms in the past 25 years. While the private sector has seen immense vibrancy, it is not enough, he argues, to tide over government failure and eroding institutions; independent institutions, Aiyar believes, are the way to go. Having said that, Aiyar remains optimistic about India’s future as he reminisces on the sudden boom in 1991 that no one had expected.
(Source: The Times of India)
P Chidambaram, in his Sunday column, attempts to make sense of the very complicated Kashmir situation by attributing it to a simple case of wrong ‘definitions’. The problem lies, he believes, in the majority believing that ‘Kashmir’ is a land, and that’s how its issues must be addressed. But there is another section of people who look at Kashmir through its ‘people’ - all seven million of them. The latter acknowledge that Kashmir acceded to India (two months after the country’s independence in 1947), but remember the unique circumstances in which it acceded.
(Source: The Indian Express)
Meghnad Desai ventures to extract lessons for India from the recent political situation in Britain over the Referendum. He draws a parallel between the two major parties of Britain, and that of India. Talking of the former, Desai waxes eloquent on how the purpose of a party (whether Left or Right) is to compete for power so that it can implement its vision. The Conservative Party, for instance, was on the losing side in the Bloodless Revolution of 1688, but survived to compete for power. This has been evidenced even in 2016, when despite David Cameron’s exit, his successor was discovered within 18 days of the Referendum, while the Labour Party remains paralysed.
(Source: The Indian Express)
Ruchir Joshi, in his column ‘The Thin Edge’ this morning, rues how despite our wanting to believe we’ve seen the backs of some archaic legislation, “someone or the other goes and revives the bizarre practice”. He refers particularly to the introduction of prohibition by the Bihar government in recent times, and to the contemplation of the same by the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal. But this is highly ill-advised, insists Joshi, as he points out how most of our prejudices against alcohol are steeped in the colonial age, and in the stereotypes perpetuated since that era.
(Source: The Telegraph)
Many attempts are being made to make sense of the turbulent Kashmir situation, and Karan Thapar this morning fleshes out his own. He seems to echo Chidambaram’s idea, in that Kashmir must be looked at as a land of its ‘people’, and describes how the violence in Kashmir clearly shows that the people of the Kashmir Valley must be treated with sensitivity. “What do they want, how far can we go to meet them, and can there be a compromise between us?” are the questions he believes should be asked. He likens this to the situation in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 80s, when successive governments initially reacted to the trouble with the army. “But when John Major and, after him, Tony Blair started to tackle the problem politically, confronting rather than circumventing the issue of separation, a resolution seemed possible.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
Ramachandra Guha throws open the hitherto-understood definitions of the ‘Left’ and the ‘Right’, believing that we might perhaps need to revise our ideas of the two. While the latter is seen as an upholder of the hierarchy, the Left is seen as the harbinger of change. Which is why, perhaps, Guha admits to being shocked at the Left resistance to a common civil code for all citizens, particularly in the ‘triple talaq’ case. The debate, he states, has brought in a lot of commentary from the liberal and left-wing press, virtually all of them attacking the idea of a common civil code.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
Twinkle Khanna’s unabashed and utterly delightful takedown of the patriarchy is always fun to watch, and she doesn’t hold back in her Sunday column ‘Mrs Funnybones’ either. She begins by exclaiming outrage, in her pointedly wry fashion, at the way Smriti Irani has been derided in the media. Jokes such as ‘Spinderella’ on the front pages of newspapers and WhatsApp forwards which went: “...no HRD feelings” pretty much summed up the misogynistic abuse that only Irani was subjected to after the Cabinet reshuffle, and none of her male colleagues. This is something Khanna notices even in the objectification of women on the tennis court, where a Serena Williams is derided for her nipples “showing” while acing her game (this despite the fact that no attempts are made to point out male nipples on display).
(Source: The Times of India)
Coomi Kapoor tries to provide an overview of the Cabinet reshuffle and the questions asked in its aftermath. She addresses first the appointment of Prakash Javadekar as a Cabinet minister, a fact that puzzled many when several ministers who were considered favourites of Prime Minister Modi (such as Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal) were overlooked. She reasons, however, that it was his job profile in the new ministry that helped bring about the elevation. “He was considered a suitable replacement for Smriti Irani because of his conciliatory approach,” she proffers. Kapoor also describes Modi’s own words of caution to the new ministers:
(Source: The Indian Express)
Sagarika Ghose pens an open letter to Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi this morning, lauding her for the initiative to start the hashtag #IAmTrolledHelp. Women who are subjected to online abuse can now seek help by tweeting with this hashtag. Ghose points out how Gandhi herself has been a subject of abuse, ironically right after she launched the initiative, by “Internet Hindus or Bhakts” who have accused her of taking away their right to attack “sickularists” online. But will the minister now have the guts to rein these pseudo-nationalists in, Ghose asks, many of whom are from her own party?
(Source: The Times Of India)
From The Quint:
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Congress Prefers Silence Over Belligerence as Modi Govt Falters
Would Delhi Dither on AFSPA If it Had Been in Force in UP, Bihar?
In Picking Raj Babbar as its UP Chief, Congress Shows Some Spunk
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