A Daniel Come To Judgment
In his piece for The Indian Express, Congress leader P Chidambaram, highlights the lessons we learn from the Bilkis Bano case after the Supreme Court verdict setting aside the remission of 11 convicts. He further gives a brief account of the crime against Bano and a timeline of the case that followed.
"The lessons of the Bilkis Bano case are that the dignity, liberty, privacy and human rights of citizens are violated with impunity. But there are intrepid police officers and courageous judges who will punish the guilty. The State may collude with perpetrators of crimes and aid and abet them to win underserved freedom. Litigants do play a fraud on courts. Judges can err grievously. Public outrage may stir other judges to correct the errors. Daniels will come to judgement. The rule of law prevails over everything. And Ms Bilkis Bano’s words “I can breathe again” will resonate forever."P Chidambaram, The Indian Express
Empower Women in Emerging Tech Fields
In her piece for the Hindustan Times, Lalita Panicker, addresses the question of whether emerging tech can help bridge the gender gap or will it make things worse.
She further points out how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics can highlight inbuilt biases and hidden discriminatory practices, eventually having the potential to increase opportunities for women in male-dominated sectors.
Similarly, she also writes about the "glitches" that "remain before all this is realised," and suggests ways to mend them.
"India, with its considerable expertise in all new technologies, can take many steps to build equal access to them for women. One could be coding programmes tailored for women and mentorship programmes for female tech leaders, which empower them to compete on more equal terms with their male counterparts."Lalita Panicker, The Hindustan Times
Red Sea Attacks: Why India is Strategically Silent on Iran Role
Foreign policy analyst Teesta Prakash, in her piece for Times of India, zeroes in on India's oil security challenges, especially in view of the incidents in Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
She further highlights attacks on two merchant vessels, MC Chem Pluto and MV Sai Baba, for which the US blamed Iran. However, India has maintained that the "perpetrators of the attacks remain unknown."
India's cautious approach, she argues, stems from past compliance with US sanctions on Iran, leading to strategic implications like China becoming its largest customer. Moreover, rising crude oil prices can also impact India domestically.
"The interest is not one way. Iran too is keen to revitalise its energy relations with India, especially as India becomes the third largest importer, and consumer of crude oil with a growing economy and demand for oil in 2024. OPEC cuts on oil for the first quarter of 2024 have also pushed Indian refiners to further diversify their oil supply which creates an incentive for New Delhi and Tehran to push for strong ties."Teesta Prakash, Times of India
Is the Congress Party Suicidal?
Columnist Tavleen Singh, in her piece for The Indian Express, questions the Congress party's decision to boycott the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. She further opines that presence at the ceremony would have benefited the grand old party.
She also presents on her view on 'what's wrong with the Congress party?'
" For me, personally, the boycott confirms that the people who lead our oldest political party have no idea of the mood of the voters. The temple in Ayodhya has come to be seen not just as a religious symbol but as a symbol of Indian unity and as a balm on a deep historical wound."Tavleen Singh, The Indian Express
Collectively Blind To Pollution
Professor Harini Nagendra, in her column for the Deccan Herald, highlights how little we know about pollution, eventually leading to our collective blindness towards its planetary impacts.
She expands on her point by citing example of rubber tyres and how it causes massive water and air pollution, impacting human health and ecology.
"The toxicity of this dust (caused from car tyre abrasion) on humans has not been well studied, and the absence of knowledge is not comforting. A recent study showed that the chemical was widespread in the rainwater run-off, soil and air across Hong Kong; and an even more alarming study from South China determined that 6PPD-Q was present in urine samples of pregnant women, children and adults."Harini Nagendra, Deccan Herald
Everybody Loves a Good Story, Don’t Let Data Spoil It
Writing for Deccan Herald, Vivek Kaul sheds light on stark decline in India's private consumption growth and what it says about the economy.
"In fact, if we look at consumption growth from the end of 2018-19 to the end of 2023-24, it averages 4.5% per year. Compare that with the average consumption growth of 7.2% per year in the five years from 2013-14 to 2018-19, which tells us that a significant portion of the population is still struggling with the after-effects of demonetisation and the pandemic."Vivek Kaul, Deccan Herald
He also zeroes in on what's really driving India's overall economic growth despite such slow consumption growth, which forms about 60 percent of the GDP.
"Investments. In fact, investments are expected to make up nearly 48% of the increase in the size of the economy from the end of 2022-23 to the end of 2023-24."
Keep Them Guessing
Coomi Kapoor, in her column for The Indian Express, writes about how two BJP elder statesmen, LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, have kept the VHP and BJP guessing of their presence or absence at Ram Temple consecration ceremony.
Translating the dilemma about their attendance, she opines, "some Modi followers feel their presence might divert the attention from the PM."
"When a journalist recently reminded Joshi that it was he who had introduced him to Modi, then an unknown political face, during Joshi’s Kashmir yatra, the BJP veteran remarked light-heartedly that it would have been no great loss if he had not introduced Modi to him."Coomi Kapoor, The Indian Express
With Disney’s Copyright Ending, Two Films Are Taking the Mickey out of the World’s Most Lovable Mouse
In his column for the Economic Times, journalist Jug Suraiya writes about the dawn of new-age Mickey Mouse, soon after the ending of Walt Disney's 95-year-old copyright on it.
He cites examples of two movies trailers that were released after the copyright end in which the Mickey Mouse is shown doing mischievous and monstrous things.
He also gives a brief picture about how the Mickey Mouse turned from a repellent rat to a cute mouse, and its connection to Charlie Chaplin & "The Great Dictator".
"Like Chaplin, Mickey became a quixotic David, foiling giant Goliaths like the huge cat, Pegleg Pete, and other badasses. In a twist of poetic irony, the baddest badass of all, whom Chaplin lampooned in The Great Dictator, was an ardent fan of the Mouseketeer."Jug Suraiya, The Economic Times
At Heathrow, You Are Always in the Queue
In his column for the Hindustan Times, senior journalist and author Karan Thapar offers an anecdote from his experience at London's Heathrow airport.
Long immigration queues, unmanned counters, haphazardly dumped bags, Thapar writes, was "undeniable incompetence."
"So, let me end with a sardonic comment and some revenge-like advice. Does Rishi Sunak realise this is what would also happen to his in-laws, who are Indian passport holders if they land at Terminal 3 — unless he’s made special arrangements for them? My advice? Bar all British citizens from using any fast track queue in every Indian airport. If that actually happens conditions at Heathrow will improve pretty quickly! You can count on that."Karan Thapar, Hindustan Times
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