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.
advertisement
Big Blows For The Constitution
In his column for The Indian Express, former Union Minister P Chidambaram writes about the BJP's attempts to 'undermine democracy and federalism' through the proposed One Nation One Election Bill.
Chidambaram writes: "In the imagination of the anti-Congress political formations, especially the BJP and the right-wing elements, the Congress’ association with the Constitution was with the Emergency that prevailed during June 1975-March 1977 and the suspension of fundamental rights of citizens. True, it was an odious chapter in the 139-year history of the Congress but Indira Gandhi apologised and vowed that Emergency would never be repeated. The people accepted her apology and voted her and the Congress back to power with a thumping majority in 1980."
Rise & Rise of Ambedkar as an Icon
Former Rajya Sabha member and senior journalist Balbir Punj, in his column for The New Indian Express, writes about the political race to appropriate Babasaheb Ambedkar's legacy.
"Today, Ambedkar almost looms larger than anyone else in the political lexicon of India. While the BJP and the Congress - the two old political formulations with pan-India footprints today - are vying with each other to claim his legacy, Ambedkar’s photographs invariably form the backdrop in the newer outfit Aam Aadmi Party’s offices, along with that of Bhagat Singh," writes Punj.
Why Pleas to Have More Kids Ring Hollow
Shalini Langer, National Editor at The Indian Express, in the paper's fortnightly 'She Said' column, reflects on the recent remarks by RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu appealing to people to have more children.
"As leaders across the political spectrum ask Indians to have 'more children', I can understand those who increasingly don’t want any," writes Langer.
She adds: "First there is the sheer cost of raising children, an expense that starts from playschool and increases exponentially with time. Parents can feel like hamsters on a wheel, with no end to the rat race, and worse, feel they are leading their children to the same future, as resources and opportunities shrink."
"Mr Mohan Bhagwat, don’t couch the reluctance to have children as 'extreme individualism' among people, not caring much for God or the country. And Mr Chandrababu Naidu, don’t pass on the burden of demographics to us. It takes a village to raise a child. First, set up at least one where a child would want to stay," she concludes.
Why a Wealth Tax May Not Be a Rich Idea
'It's not a new idea but somewhere along the way, the wealth tax went out of vogue,' writes Ishan Bakshi in The Indian Express as he reflects on the renewed conversations on taxing wealth.
Bakshi writes: "Among the various reasons why people choose to migrate are financial considerations and tax benefits. A wealth or an inheritance tax may aggravate this. Moreover, a large part of wealth in India, and as a consequence a person’s inheritance, is in the form of land, real estate and gold. Will these have to be liquidated? India’s story of wealth creation has just started. Millions are only now beginning to take part in this journey. Levying such taxes will only take us back to our socialist past."
Remembering Ghalib
Author, diplomat, and former Member of the Parliament, Pavan K Varma, in his column for the Hindustan Times writes about the legacy of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib ahead of the poet's 227th birth anniversary.
Varma, along with other diplomats, artists, and bureaucrats, had played a significant role in the restoration of Ghalib's haveli in Ballimaran, just off Delhi's Chandni Chowk.
He writes: "Ghalib was the quintessential Sufi. Interestingly, one sign of his transcendence of conventional religion, was that when he died there was confusion as to whether the funeral rites should follow Shia or Sunni rituals! Nobody was quite sure, and, frankly, it is my belief that he would have been equally happy if he was cremated as per Hindu rites."
Shame and Hypocrisy
"It is my view that the Home Minister spoke carelessly about Dr Ambedkar. But it is true that it had become fashionable to chant Ambedkar’s name by those who only sought to use it as a political tool at election time," says senior journalist Tavleen Singh in her weekly column for The Indian Express.
Singh writes: "There was Rahul Gandhi in a blue t-shirt (instead of his usual white) with his sister in a blue sari and sundry other Congress MPs also wearing Dalit blue, a colour chosen because of the sky under which everyone is equal. They cried 'Jai, Jai Bhim' and carried placards declaring 'I am Ambedkar' and Ambedkar is my god. From a party with which Ambedkar had serious differences."
She then reflects upon the hypocrisy displayed by BJP MPs.
"In the Home Minister’s speech in which he allegedly ‘insulted’ Dr Ambedkar, he listed the memorials and sundry other things done in his memory since Narendra Modi became prime minister. And BJP speakers in the debate on the Constitution never failed to mention that Ambedkar had been denied a Bharat Ratna by prime ministers from the Dynasty. What these newly minted members of Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s fan club failed to mention was that the ideology to which they subscribe, the Hindutva that defines the Modi government, is the antithesis of what Ambedkar believed."
Cricket’s Elite and The Case Against Numbers
"Numbers lie," says writer Rahul Jayaram as he critiques Indian cricket media coverage in his column for the Deccan Herald.
He writes: "Except for some, Indian cricket media coverage fawns over our stars and the BCCI. Most cricket media and journalists rarely speak up because it may mean losing favour with the players or the BCCI. Thus, several of them, with jobs to keep, stick to the straight-and-narrow of convention, normality, and refrain from rocking any boat. To lend legitimacy to key decisions by the cricket establishment, and to stick to the status quo, they bring up data and statistics to buttress important verdicts, like what players to retain and whom to drop, for example."
PM Modi in Kuwait to Deepen Mutual Enrichment
In his column for the Deccan Herald, author and journalist Ninad D Sheth, writes about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kuwait and how it 'underscores India's role as a responsible global power, one that extends its hand to protect its citizens abroad while fostering deeper economic and strategic ties.'
"That it took 43 years for an Indian prime minister to visit Kuwait had more to do with Kuwait’s internal politics, where there was a power struggle within for clarity to emerge, than by design. There is also the dimension that in the early 1990s there was a chill in the relationship as India was seen as pro-Iraq. That, however, is now history," writes Sheth.
Protect Soil After a Year of Landslides
"World Soil Day passed with a whimper on 5 December. The PM released a customary message, but not much action was seen on the ground," writes historian and environmentalist Nanditha Krishna in her column for The New Indian Express.
Krishna writes: "Of all our resources, land is the most tangible—a finite resource worth protecting. On paper, India has 329 million hectares of land area, of which 24 mha are either inaccessible or under foreign occupation, 28 mha under urban or non-agricultural use, 16 mha are barren lands and only 250 mha are available for potential use. Of the 250 mha, 72 mha are under forest cover. Most of the 175 mha available for agriculture suffers from serious water and wind erosion or is affected by excessive salinity, alkalinity or water-logging and other damaging factors."
More From The Quint
- Access to all paywalled content on site
- Ad-free experience across The Quint
- Early previews of our Special Projects
Published: undefined