Crucial Questions, Cautious Answers
In his column in The Indian Express, veteran Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram lists some key questions put before the government in the recent session of Parliament and analyses the Centre's responses. He writes, "There were questions and, to my pleasant surprise, there were answers — some ambiguous, some cautious and some non-answers. The questions and answers, closely analyzed, will bear out the apprehension expressed by former RBI Governor, Dr Raghuram Rajan, that growth in 2022-23 will be moderate and the economy will face heavy weather in 2023-24."
Here's an example.
""Since you want Rs 500 crore for Defence capital expenditure, will you please tell us if China has conceded anything on Hot Springs; if China has agreed to disengage in the Depsang plains and the Demchok junction; if China has built and is building massive infrastructure like roads, bridges, communications, helipads and settlements and is amassing troops and weaponry along the LAC; does creating a buffer zone mean that Indian troops can no longer patrol in that area; and did PM Modi raise the issues with President Xi at Bali?" Since China is an unmentionable word, the FM joined the conspiracy of silence."P Chidambaram in The Indian Express
A Very Partisan Virus
Tavleen Singh asks in her column in The Indian Express, "Why did the new Covid variant choose to manifest itself only when the dust of the elections had settled, and the only political show left in town was the Bharat Jodo Yatra?"
"It happens that I was at the Delhi airport waiting to catch a flight to Jodhpur when the health minister set off his weird Covid alarm last week. Weird because instead of a serious warning to the general populace, he chose to write a letter to Rahul Gandhi to warn him that if Covid protocols were not followed, the Bharat Jodo Yatra would be stopped. Weird also because this new variant seems to be both partisan and political, or it would have surely shown up when the Prime Minister and his senior ministers were addressing vast rallies in Gujarat and Himachal days ago."Tavleen Singh in The Indian Express
The Pluralist Tourist
Mukul Kesavan, in his piece for The Telegraph, expresses why the annual tableau of Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus known as the Nativity holds great significance to him and how “unfamiliar celebrations” like the Nativity “offer simple, uncerebral comfort and pleasure.”
"As a non-believer who isn’t Christian, I feel reassured by this elaborate set that’s assembled and dismantled each year. I like both the sameness and the differences. Christmas in Delhi is a small affair compared to Diwali or compared to Christmas in more Christian countries elsewhere, but it still punches above its weight. The India International Centre has erected a faux frosted tree on a hillock of cotton-snow. A small Santa sleds down this fluffy slope, bearing gifts, ringed by poinsettias. It should seem absurd but it doesn’t."Mukul Kesavan in The Telegraph
A Special Collective
Political researcher Asim Ali writes in The Telegraph that political science scholarship of recent decades has convincingly demonstrated that more information does not necessarily lead to an enlightened citizenry; it can just as likely lead to greater partisanship and ignorance.
"More informed voters are better at rationalising and articulating their political views rather than arriving at a ‘reasoned’ political view. An opinion poll conducted last year by India Today suggested that 54% of Indian citizens believed in an organised ‘love jihad’ conspiracy to convert Hindu women to Islam. A phantom created by the Sangh parivar a little more than a decade back is now the majority view in the country. Sure, we can blame the public, we can blame the Sangh parivar institutions, and we can blame the large parts of mainstream media which, pretty brazenly, advance the agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party and speak the Sangh’s vocabulary. But we must also ask: where is the progressive public, which could be expected at this stage in our democracy to resist the assault on our democratic institutions and the alarming level of demonisation of our minority communities?"Asim Ali in The Telegraph
COVID Again: As G20 Chair, India Must Lead the Fight Against Virus Resurgence
Rajib Dasgupta, Professor at JNU's Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, writes in The Indian Express on how the latest surge in cases of COVID-19 could be New Delhi's moment to demonstrate both effective responses as well as establish greater collaboration among member states through a coordinated and shared response framework.
"The current phase of the pandemic has come at a time when India has taken up the G20 presidency. As we know, health systems are going through the processes of recovery, reformation, and rejuvenation and all countries are recalibrating to build resilience into their health services to be able to effectively and respond efficiently to health emergencies. Despite immense challenges, India has responded reasonably well through the last three years including in building up capacities of medical countermeasures — through diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and vaccines — as well as digital innovations."Rajib Dasgupta in The Indian Express
Ho-ho-horror, Lovely Chill That Christmas Brings
Talking about all the current events that have given this year’s Christmas a spooky touch, Indrajit Hazra writes for The Economic Times about why the final week of the year is the best time to stay indoors.
"While Halloween is the branded day for all things supposedly Spooky©, it is for kids, and grown-ups still hankering for a green card through embarrassing displays of post-gym cosplay. Christmas - or Christmas Eve, to be more precise - is the perfect time to turn on the Great Indoors, settle with a slim book, a large peg and a long movie that, at least temporarily, make us believe in irrational things like the presence of dead loved ones, inflation-protected pay rise, and piled-up dishes that wash themselves.”Indrajit Hazra in The Economic Times
Hindus Tolerant, Inclusive: Why Rush To Take Offence?
Former diplomat and ex-JDU leader Pavan K Varma writes in Deccan Chronicle on a growing culture of 'taking offence'.
"When Bajrang Dal goons vandalised the set of Ashram 3, a web series being shot by Prakash Jha, for “hurting” Hindu sentiments, he almost condoned the attack. The series, Ashram 3, is about a rogue godman. Hinduism — like all religions — has enough of these charlatans, just as it has truly spiritually evolved saints. What is wrong in exposing those who misuse religion? Adi Shankaracharya, himself mocks those who use religion only to fulfil their own desires: “Jatilo mundi lunchitakesha hakashayambara bahukritavesha, prashnayapi ca napashyapatimudhou daranimitto bahukritaveshaha: Many are those whose locks are matted, many whose heads are closely shaved, many who pluck out all their hair, some of them wearing robes of saffron, some of them clad in different colours — all these things are for their stomach’s sake.” If Shankaracharya lived today, he could have been attacked for denigrating Hinduism!"Pavan K Varma in Deccan Chronicle
What’s Eating Ghulam Azad; Daughter Tends to Sushma Ties
Anita Katyal starts off her column for The Deccan Chronicle by giving us two reasons why former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose exit from the party made a big splash in the news, is apparently wary of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ that is set to enter Kashmir towards the end of January 2023.
"Mr Azad fears that unhappy leaders could be tempted to return to the Congress if they are convinced that the state unit is getting its act together. It is, therefore, not surprising that Mr Azad is keeping a sharp eye on the Yatra and its possible impact on the state Congress unit."Anita Katyal in Deccan Chronicle
At the End of This Year, Hit Refresh
Author Shreya Sen-Handley writes in Deccan Chronicle, makes a case for why, during this last week of the year, "we should declare a total amnesty towards ourselves and our perceived sins, and relax or revel, or both if we please."
"Whilst we can’t and shouldn’t forget the horrors of 2022, or our growing socio-economic and environmental problems, in this concluding week we ought to “take it easy” as the Eagles maintained (and Big Birds know best). Quaff that lulling tipple, eat some sinfully scrumptious cake, nap at odd hours, gleefully open presents (recycle, recycle, recycle as well). Most of all, take pleasure in the company you keep, including your own. To blithely misquote Tennyson once again, for one week only it’s “ours not to reason why, ours but to drink and dine”. Deal?"Shreya Sen-Handley in Deccan Chronicle
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