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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Budget Abandons the Lesser Gods - 2

"I am usually sceptical of bare promises made by a government; I prefer a time-table towards implementing the promises," says P Chidambaram in part two of his article criticising the Union Budget 2025-26 in The Indian Express.

Chidambaram says that if Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman desired to uphold equity and morality, she could have given tax relief through a cut in GST rates or cuts in taxes on petrol and diesel. Or, he adds, she could have put more money in the hands of people by increasing MGNREGS wages.

"Equity, morality discarded," Chidambaram says, adding:

"Not a word on the rising unemployment rate or the shrinking manufacturing sector. Not a word on inflation, stagnant wages or mounting household debt. Not a word on the budgeted but unspent money in the education and healthcare sectors. Not a word on the status of the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes. Not a word on the bottom 50 percent of the population of India. Not a word on the poorest of the poor —14.96 per cent of the population (or 21 crore) according to UNDP. To PM Narendra Modi and FM Nirmala Sitharaman, the poor do not exist."

P Chidambaram

The Death of a KIIT Student Leads To the Question: Are Our Institutions Failing Women?

In an opinion piece for Hindustan Times, Namita Bhandare reflects on the alleged suicide of a 20-year-old BTech student from Nepal at the Kalinga Institute of Technology (KIIT), who was allegedly being harassed and blackmailed by her former partner and fellow student.

Bhandare says that while the victim lodged a complaint with the university authorities, they initially did not pay much heed to the gravity of the situation.

"How differently everything could have turned out had the university taken her complaint seriously?" Bhandare asks.

"Educators from school to university need to consider what can be done to stem this sort of behaviour where men either singly or in packs throw all civilized and acceptable norms to the wind. Families are where all education begins. But schools and colleges must also step up and reinforce ideas of consent, sexuality and gender equality, including a healthy respect for the women and girls they meet."

Namita Bhandare

Smudged Lines

Writing for The Telegraph, Mukul Kesavan notes the congruence between the worldview of MAGA (Make America Great Again) and that of Europe's neo-fascist Right, and says that it would be a mistake to think that Europe's Centrist establishment is firewalled against far-Right politics.

Kesavan says that Donald Trump's MAGA is based on three axioms: one, that Russia isn't an existential threat to the US; two, China is; and three, Europe, aka the "Old World", is a dying continent.

Kesavan further says that the European Right concurs with most of the MAGA axioms, particularly the fact that Europe is a white civilisation in crisis, diminished by steep declines in "white fertility" and "corroded" by non-white migrants.

"But even while noting the congruence between MAGA’s world view and that of Europe’s neo-fascist Right, it would be a mistake to think that Europe’s Centrist establishment is fire-walled against far-Right politics. The shunning of National Rally and Marine Le Pen, Alice Weidel and the AfD is temporary; it can last only so long as these parties don’t win a working majority in their legislatures or a presidential election. Giorgia Meloni is the living example of this."

Mukul Kesavan

The Low Bar of Indian Comedy

"Watching older episodes of India’s Got Latent, it’s clear the producers couldn’t care less about comedy as an art form, they’re there for the bucks," writes Leher Kala in an article for The Indian Express, reflecting on the controversy over the statements of YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia on the show.

Kala says that in a country of 1.4 billion people, it is not that hard to find a few lakh followers who are titillated by crude humour dripping with cheap innuendo and abusive language.

"When money is rolling in with zero effort, the flourishing Indian attitude of kaam chalao prevails, so why bother raising the bar?" she says.

"However, online fame is an unreliable beast. One moment you’re a dazzling star lighting up Google Trends and the next you’re crashing down to earth, burnt out, washed up and over. The Internet is full of self mythologising posers luxuriating in their mediocrity but the party seldom lasts forever. Tip the scales too far and we the people, responsible for propping up two-bit influencers and minor celebrities are equally ruthless when it comes to tearing them down."

Leher Kala

India and the Global AI Race: Winning Strategies

In an article for Deccan Chronicle, Manish Tewari analyses India's position in the global race for AI development. He says that despite having a strong IT sector, India lacks a clear and effective AI strategy and has been lagging behind smaller nations such as Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong.

"To bridge the gap, India’s engineering education must evolve to equip graduates for advanced AI research," Tewari says.

Among the several impediments India faces in developing its AI technology, such as major infrastructure gaps in the form of a robust semiconductor and computing industry, Tewari says that a major "brain drain" is still continuing unimpeded.

"Many of India’s top AI and semiconductor engineers leave for opportunities in the US and Europe, drawn by better research facilities and funding. Without strong incentives, retaining talent will remain a struggle. Additionally, India has yet to foster effective public-private partnerships — an essential driver of AI progress in nations like the US and China. Bureaucratic roadblocks further discourage private investment in deep tech and AI startups."

Manish Tewari

Evolution of a Harappan Icon

Writing for The New Indian Express, historian Nanditha Krishna says that despite interpretations by some western indologists, lingams are not phallic symbols. From the cylindrical stones found in Harappa to the ones installed later in India and Southeast Asia, Krishna says, they represent an abstract form of the divine.

She enumerates numerous examples throughout history of the different forms in which lingams have been prayed to – from the Chaturmukha lingam in Cambodia to the Panchamukha lingam in Nepal, from the Earth lingam in Kanchipuram to the Parashurameshvara Temple lingam in Andhra Pradesh.

"Over the following millenniums, its depictions have taken various forms. Our culture is richer for this variety today."

Nanditha Krishna

Ranji Trophy Providing More Engrossing Fare

"The eyes of the cricketing world will be focused on Dubai today," says Tushar Bhaduri in an article for Financial Express, describing the exuberant fanfare that surrounds the India-Pakistan cricket match.

However, he says that while the ICC Champions Trophy has garnered eyeballs and mindspace over the last few weeks, India's domestic cricket has provided more engrossing and riveting contests, even when the biggest stars in the game didn’t feature in them.

"Ranji kaun dekhta hai may be a feeling shared only by the most casual of cricket fans, who are only interested in stars rather than a genuine contest between bat and ball. The real connoisseurs of the game will always be interested in what’s happening at venues throughout the length and breadth of this vast country."   

Tushar Bhaduri

Erasing Kashmir’s Heritage & Identity

"Jammu and Kashmir, long celebrated as the ‘Switzerland of Asia,’ is being eroded, quite literally, by unchecked illegal construction, bureaucratic negligence, and political indifference," says Surinder Singh Oberoi in an article for Greater Kashmir.

Oberoi says that the only solution to this unchecked construction is the setting up of a dedicated Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – a watchdog agency with real power to enforce urban planning laws and hold violators accountable.

"Without decisive action, the region risks losing not just its aesthetic charm, but its very identity," Oberoi says, adding:

"Jammu and Kashmir’s built heritage is also a casualty of this construction frenzy in the name of modernisation. Kashmir’s architectural style was a unique blend of Kashmiri, Mughal, and British influences, defining features of its cities. Traditional wooden and brick structures with intricate designs and delicate facades lent Srinagar an old-world charm. But today, these buildings are disappearing. They are being replaced by soulless concrete monoliths that are neither aesthetically appealing nor structurally sound."

Surinder Singh Oberoi

Will Kejriwal Wilt? 

In her weekly column for The Indian Express, Coomi Kapoor says that while Rekha Gupta's appointment as the new Delhi chief minister is currently the trending news, writing the political "obituary" of former CM Arvind Kejriwal would be a mistake.

However, Kapoor says that while Kejriwal's meteoric rise in Delhi is unprecedented in Indian politics and a source of inspiration for many other aspiring politicians, over the years his "hubris" got the better of him.

"The cough and the muffler disappeared, so did his claim of simple living. One of Kejriwal’s big mistakes was the failure to build a cadre and his suspicion of all potential rivals. Far from rewarding loyalists, he handed out Rajya Sabha nominations arbitrarily to wealthy uncommitted individuals. The BJP electoral machine is now out to demolish Kejriwal’s image with the help of the state machinery and constant media reminders on “Sheesh Mahal” and the liquor scam scandals. Only time will tell whether David can rise once more to slay the Goliaths."

Coomi Kapoor

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