Bangladesh Isn’t Pakistan: Elections Matter
In this piece for The Indian Express, Sanjay Bhattacharyya, zeroes in on Bangladesh's tumultuous electoral journey and how the elections in the country on Sunday, 7 January, the first in a series of polls in 2024 will be significant.
Mapping the trajectory of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (AL), he talks about the politics of 'caretaker government' which has been lobbied by the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Marred by violence, Islamist forces have been on the fringes of electoral processes, he claims, mentioning Jamaat-e-Islami (Jamaat), Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir (Shibir) and other Islamic parties.
"The struggle within Bangladesh has been for an open, secular and democratic society versus Islamic fundamentalism. On the economic front, both sides have sought growth, but the methods and beneficiaries have varied. The outcome of this struggle now will impact society and polity, with the possibility of political unrest and the export of extremism, if society falls prey to religious fundamentalism and sponsors of terrorism."
Further. vis-à-vis Pakistan, he writes that, "it is important to understand that Bangladesh chose democracy, unlike its estranged twin Pakistan."
Drama After Trauma: Much Politics in The Name of Ram
Pavan K. Varma, an Indian diplomat writes in The Asian Age about the unproductive and ill-thought-out politics that surround the upcoming Ram Mandir consecration. Varma states that the building of 'much-awaited' abode of Ram is not a BJP project alone but a consequence of an SC judgement and is hence, by definition an event that's 'apolitical.'
While he criticises the Opposition for being uncertain and confused on where they stand with the Ram Mandir ceremony, he bashes the distasteful politics being played where BJP is "not blameless."
"Some of the party’s over-zealous members — including a Union Cabinet minister — are aggressively saying that 'Ayodhya tau jhanki hai, aage bohat kuch baki hai: Ayodhya is just the beginning, a lot more still remains to be done.' The ruling party seems to have lost all reticence in threatening that what has happened in Ayodhya will also be replicated in Kashi and Mathura, with scant regard for the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which the BJP may have opposed, but is still the law of the land. "Pavan K Varma in The Asian Age
Bringing Back Faith in India’s Politics
Ruchi Gupta, Executive Director of the Future of India Foundation focuses on the need to have constructive discussion on restoring trust in politics in this piece for The Hindu.
She writes:
"A fundamental purpose of democracy is to establish processes to negotiate differences among a diverse population that must coexist. However, the erosion of good faith in our politics has led to a mindless zero-sum antagonism, where only the most partisan, rather than those driven by public interest, can thrive. This status quo, if left unaddressed, would be tragic for everyone who loves our country."Ruchi Gupta in The Hindu
She acknowledged the behavior on both sides — the ruling party and the Opposition — she states that the government's abuse of state power, ranging from intimidation and incarceration and Opposition's refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of the government.
As she proceeds to talk about the effects of the anti-defection law and the media's role to fair scrutiny, she adds how citizens across ideological divides must come together to restore the trust in politics.
It's Happy New Year For Some
P Chidambaram in his weekly column for The Indian Express talks about the happy and unhappy sections of the people in India as the 2024 year begins. He notes:
"The policies that guide the government are of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. Even among the rich, the policies favour concentration of wealth and oligopolies if not monopolies. I think that the New Year may make some people happy but will leave major sections of the people unhappy."
While the happy people are the ones whom satisfactory growth rates have made happy: big and medium corporates, high net worth individuals, bankers, traders, etc, the unhappy people are divided in sections:
The people left behind in the public distribution system, the 82 crore Indians who are given free ration of 5kg per month and 7.6 crore MGNREGS workers deleted from the list of registered workers.
People without jobs. He adds that self-employment in a country like India means unemployment.
Lastly, those who are bearing the brunt of inflation. "This includes everyone except the top 10% that owns 60% of the nation wealth and earns 57% of the national income," he adds.
How Not to Fight Modi
In his column for Business Standard, Shekhar Gupta, editor-in-chief of The Print, takes a dig at the Opposition for struggling to convince enough voters about relevance of national scams and issues and why they matter, enough for them to change their government.
He asks, "Why are people not impressed by any of the various charge-sheets, from demonitisation to Rafale, and alleged cronyism with Adani now?"
"The upshot is that challenges have risen from utter hopelessness to defeat powerful incumbents. But they need big ideas, credibility, and a line that tugs at the hearts of a critical mass of voters. Once you have it, you need at least a couple of years' heard work on the ground," he adds.
Concluding, quite sharply, he notes:
"The most important lesson is that you have to build your political proposition, and sell it yourself. You can't leave it to the courts, media, NGOs and civil society (anti-CAA protest is an example) and expect them to play the role of the Opposition. That's precisely what Mr Modi's challengers have been doing and we know the results."Shekhar Gupta in Business Standard
Playing in Gaza: Geopolitics of The Forked Tongue
As Israel's airstrikes against Gaza continues, TS Tirumurti writes this timely piece for The Times of India about how Israel continues its attacks with the West's support, how to ensure Palestinians don't lose if and when Hamas does or to ensure "Palestinians win without Hamas winning."
"Israel's conflation of Hamas and Palestinians has made it easier for Israelis and the West to justify killing 8,600 Palestinian children as being same as defeating Hamas. Collective punishment and denying food, water and medicine is, in their eyes, kosher."TS Tirumurti in The Times of India
Focusing on how the US has given Israel space to prosecute this 'goalless' war in Gaza, he further continues:
"The US knows it is affected domestically and internationally but since it concurs with Israel's goal to eradicate Hamas, it is more concerned about containing perception rather than civilian casualties."
Ayodhya's Old Ram Idol: A Contested History
In his piece for The Indian Express, Deeptiman Tiwary touches upon the conflicting history that surrounds the stone idol of Ram Lalla which will be consecrated in the newly built Ayodhya this month.
The "miraculous appearance" of the idol has been disputed throughout history, where historians and investigators believed it to be an "elaborate conspiracy to whip up communal passions in a newly partitioned India" and create a ground to claim over the property. He cites the Liberhan Commission following the Babri masjid demolition. Tiwary notes:
The report suggested, "that the 'appearance' of the idol may have been part of a conspiracy in which the local bureaucracy was involved. It particularly picked out the role played by then DM of Faizabad KK Nayar."
"It noted that Nayar had then said 'the surreptitious removal of idols, though possible, would have raised a question of administrative consequences and administrative bankruptcy and tyranny.'" Both, him and his wife had then contested elections and won.Deeptiman Tiwary in The Indian Express
When Ethnicity & Economy Overlap
Aditi Phadnis in her column for Business Standard talks about the newly-formed Lalduhoma-led government in Mizoram and its political relationship with the central government.
After taking office, the new CM had announced that his party would govern the state with "God's help" while making clear that he will not do deals with the BJP.
She writes: "This is not to say the ZPM is on a confrontation course with BJP. Mr Lalduhoma has good personal relations with the Centre, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But friendship and accommodation of the BJP do not serve the ZPM's strategic goals."
Laying out the challenges that Lalduhoma's government faces in Mizoram, she pertinently adds:
"Mr Lalduhoma's biggest task is economic restructuring of the state: Employment, better terms of trade for Mizoram's agri-economy, and push for better infrastructure. Sixty percent of the state's labour force is employed in agriculture. The government is also a big employer - 45,00 people - leading to a swelling salary and pension bill.."Aditi Phadnis in Business Standard
Generative AI: All Roads Lead to Dystopia
Roger Marshall, a noted computer scientist in this piece for the Deccan Herald deep dives into the utopian and dystopian versions that are associated with the AI (Artificial Intelligence) systems.
He writes:
"The ongoing discussions on utopian/dystopian visions of AI systems of the future represent a false dichotomy — one intended to distract, not elucidate. The corporate 'build it and they will come' philosophy coupled with, if something goes wrong, 'it is easier to apologise than obtain permission' mindset is at work here. The drumbeats of war are sounded long before the war starts. "
Talking about the lack of clarity on the potential harm of AI systems in the future, he elaborates:
"It is all well and good for the western nations with shrinking populations to invest heavily in AI and absorb the predicted 27% job losses, but for countries in the Global South, to adopt such technological disruptors is foolish. Severe job-losses will change global migration patterns, adding to the toxic mix of rampant xenophobia and all other phobias you can think of."Roger Marshall in Deccan Herald
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