Sunday View: The Best Weekend Opinion Reads, Curated Just for You

We sifted through the papers to find the best opinion reads, so you won't have to.

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Collective Action Than Dosti

"Prime Minister Modi may or may not have read Shakespeare," says P Chidambaram in his weekly column for The Indian Express, "but has certainly imbibed the truth in Shakespeare’s words: ‘There is flattery in friendship’."

Chidambaram says that by "flattering" US President Donald Trump, PM Modi hopes to negotiate the issues of immigration, deportation, visas, tariffs et al. However, by doing so, the prime minister may be burning bridges with many of India's geopolitical partners, he adds.

Is it worth it, considering that Trump can remain in office only for the next four years? Chidambaram answers:

"Modern diplomacy is more than personal friendship. Mr Modi or India cannot burn the bridges with the Democratic Party and put all the money on Mr Trump. In any event, Mr Trump will not be in office after January 19, 2029. The next President may well be a Democrat. In the meanwhile, by totally aligning with Mr Trump and his “goals”, India would have completely alienated Canada and the European countries, especially Germany, France, Britain and Denmark."

P Chidambaram

An Anatomy of Envy

In an article for The New Indian Express, Debashis Chatterjee speaks about the moral degradation of a human being that comes with "envy".

In today's self-centered universe, he says, self-image is consumable, and social validation is the ultimate currency.

"In the corporate jungle, where one’s worth is measured by the size of their paycheck, envy thrives like mould in a damp basement. Here, the “economic man” isn’t valued for his humanity but for the digits on his pay stub. Financial disparities ignite social comparisons, leading to an endless cycle of promotions, demotions, and the peculiar tradition of toasting both with equal fervour. Unlike cows, who couldn’t care less about how much grass their neighbour is munching, humans obsess over salary discrepancies and indulge in relentless office gossip."

Debashis Chatterjee

He further adds that the only time envy works in your favour is when you outgrow it, evolving from envy to admiration, from flattery to genuine praise, and finally from imitation to emulation.

Test of Cricket in Full Speed

"T20 cricket is seen as the future and sustenance of the sport," writes Pradeep Magazine in an opinion piece for The Tribune, highlighting the large crowds that the Indian Premier League (IPL) pulls in.

"But where does it leave people who savour slow cooking?" he asks. "A dish prepared with care and attention has a flavour and taste that processed food can rarely acquire."

Magazine says that a game that used to value patience and a slow build-up to the final denouement has now been put on "speed skates".

"In this now nearly two-decade-old revolution, Test cricket, mercifully, is still not dead as many of us feared. It has produced some riveting, breathtaking, close contests, especially in bowling-friendly conditions with batsmen willing to take greater risks. T20 has sped up Test cricket as well, but doubts and fears for its long-term survival remain."

Pradeep Magazine

The Big Ceasefire: Will This Lead To Russia Regrouping?

Manish Tewari, in an article for Deccan Chronicle, says that the proposed ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine presents a complex set of implications for both countries.

For Ukraine, a pause in hostilities would provide a crucial window to rebuild infrastructure, but could also potentially legitimise Russia's territorial gains. For Moscow, a ceasefire would ease immediate battlefield pressures, but could also reinforce western military and economic support for Kyiv, he says.

Can lasting peace be achieved? Tewari opines:

"Russia’s territorial ambitions suggest that any ceasefire could serve as a temporary pause rather than a genuine step toward peace. The Kremlin's insistence on maintaining control over occupied Ukrainian territories and its claims over additional regions underscores the challenges of reaching a comprehensive settlement. For Ukraine and its allies, preventing a ceasefire from merely giving Russia time to regroup will be a key priority. Some, including US President Trump, have proposed a more strategic agreement requiring Russian forces to reposition to less advantageous locations, potentially reducing the risk of renewed conflict. However, whether Moscow would accept such conditions remains uncertain."

Manish Tewari

Codes of Elegance

In an article for The Telegraph, Gopalkrishna Gandhi writes about his fascination with the human hand, and the gamut of things that can be indicated and interpreted through its movement and placement.

For instance, he says, the Indian and South Asian ‘namaskar’ and ‘aadaab’ are about the most beautiful choreographies of human creativity. Similarly, Gandhi adds, that if anything can distract his attention from their music, it is the way the hands of Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan move on the strings of their sitar.

However, he says that hand gestures can also be used to portray something debase: "If any gesture has gone into the cellars of infamy, it is the Nazi salute. Any politician using it ignites emotions that are best left undescribed."

Speaking further about the hand, Gandhi writes:

"Hand gestures of the great are a fascination. An iconic photograph of Sri Ramakrishnadeb, with his right hand raised with fingers held in an extraordinary arrangement, as if holding the globe, is impossible to define. The philosopher, Ramchandra Gandhi, once described that as the master’s spiritual googly sent to a confused bat-wielding world. I do not know if Babasaheb Ambedkar used his arm in the way his statues show him do but that upraised arm with forefinger making a point is needed, politically and ideologically."

Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Dissidence and Criticism

Reflecting on the recent interview between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US-based podcaster Lex Fridman, Tavleen Singh, in her article in The Indian Express, asks a pertinent question:

"When was the last time you heard one of Narendra Modi’s ministers claim some achievement without reminding us that what had been achieved was under the ‘visionary leadership of our Prime Minister’?"

Singh says that PM Modi's media managers have made it clear that journalists who dare to criticise government policies will find it hard, if not impossible, to be given access or interviews. Only those who show a degree of servility will be granted an audience with the PM, she adds.

"Narendra Modi is not the first prime minister who has found ways to control the media; almost all who came before him found their own ways of doing this. What has changed is that there is less subtlety about how this is done, which is why every journalist travelling here from Western, democratic countries becomes quickly convinced that there are restrictions on freedom of speech that did not exist before."

Tavleen Singh

Old Songs Are Like Time Machines, Ride Them & Let the Past Play On

"Every person has in his memory a few songs which facilitate time travel," says Siddharth Chowdhury in an article for The Economic Times.

For instance, he says, that whenever he listens to 'Dekha Hai Maine Tumhe Phir Se Palat Ke' from Ravikant Nagaich's Wardat (1981), it takes him back to his childhood in Kadam Kuan, Patna.

Chowdhury further adds that the first music cassette he bought was the soundtrack of Top Gun (1986).

"Over tins of Rajnigandha, cartons of Wills Navy Cut, Charms, Gold Flake cigarettes, and sachets of Baltic prophylactics, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, A-ha, and Wet Wet Wet jostled for space and attention in a sliding glass case," he writes, adding:

"After patiently hearing my laddish ruminations about music and memory for an hour, my wife, who lately had been watching Ziddi Girls on Amazon Prime, said: 'It is not always the song that transports you to a specific place; sometimes the reverse is also true. Whenever I walk past the Miranda House hostel, at my back I always hear Madonna affirming for me, 'This used to be my playground/This used to be the place where I ran to'."

Siddharth Chowdhury

The RSS Angle

In her weekly column for The Indian Express, Coomi Kapoor says that it seems that the BJP is considering Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan or potentially Manohar Lal Khattar as its next party chief.

"Yadav is backed by Suresh Soni and Pradhan by Dattatreya Hosabale, both RSS heavyweights," she says. On the other hand, Khattar's name was proposed by the RSS' joint general secretary Arun Kumar, despite the former's age and limited involvement in the party organisation.

However, Kapoor says, there still might be a twist to this tale.

"Arun Kumar seems oblivious that the RSS high command is seriously contemplating replacing both him and BL Santhosh, national general secretary (organisation), as it is felt that they have failed to sternly convey the RSS line of thought to PM Narendra Modi during their tenures."

Coomi Kapoor

My Body, Your Choice: Does a Woman’s Consent Mean Anything, Anymore?

"Consent to sex, the bedrock of personal autonomy, once a rallying cry for empowerment, finds itself under siege," writes Shaifali Sandhya in an opinion piece for Deccan Herald.

Sandhya speaks of two horrific incidents: the death of a woman in Bastar due to "forced" sexual intercourse with her husband, and the case of French woman Gisèle Pelicot, who had been drugged and raped by her husband and many others over several years.

"Two women, two continents, and one truth – their consent was stolen or dismissed as an inconvenience," Sandhya writes, adding:

"What of the countless women who must wake up each day to the knowledge that their “no” is inconsequential? When a nation’s legal framework dismisses a woman’s “no” as irrelevant within marriage, using justifications like “She’s your wife” or “Sex is a private matter", it grants violators the power to infringe on women’s rights. Moreover, it reduces intimacy to a mechanical series of duty and disavows its responsibility for the well-being of half its populace."

Shaifali Sandhya

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