Sunday View: The Best Weekend Opinion Reads, Curated Just for You

Writing for The Indian Express, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram argues that even as the Indian masses voted for better governance, jobs, and price stability, "if the same Ministers occupy the same offices and propagate the same policies, it will be a cruel mockery of the verdict of the people."He writes, "Mr Modi has faltered and failed the country.""When Mr Modi chose continuity over change, he shot himself in the foot (...) Firstly, Mr Modi has spurned the warning of the electorate to change the course and style of his government. Secondly, he has stubbornly maintained that there was nothing wrong in the basic policies of his government, especially the policies concerning the economy, internal security and foreign policy. Thirdly, he has implicitly acknowledged that there was a serious talent deficit in his ranks. Fourthly, he has made it clear that there was place in his Cabinet only for those who accepted that his third government would be PMO-driven."P Chidambaram, for The Indian ExpressFormer IIT Delhi director V Ramgopal Rao, writes in The Times of India, that the new government already has a challenge at hand – the NEET fiasco, with allegations of paper leak, arbitrary allocation of grace marks, etc, adding to the burden of the parents and students.He suggests that the way exams are conducted in India for admission to government-run institutes needs to change and it "must prioritise flexibility, transparency, diversity, scalability, accessibility of materials," among other things."Given that admissions to govt institutions in India rely heavily on a single test score, these exams bear an immense burden to accurately assess a student’s overall scholastic ability and aptitude. One significant downside of standardising school education through uniform national boards and common entrance exams is the homogenisation of higher education intake, which can stifle creativity and diversity of thought. Additionally, this standardisation inadvertently fuels the coaching industry."V Ramgopal Rao, for The Times of IndiaIn his column for The Times Of India, former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta writes that through bitter politics and elections in the country, "one politician came away with his reputation not only intact but embellished in defeat."After helming the progress of Odisha for 24 years and having "functioned as an independent chief minister" in difficult times, Dasgupta says that the opposition leaders can learn a lot from his balancing act between the state and the Centre."For all his purported shortcomings and quirks, the Biju Janata Dal leader was always perceived as an epitome of grace and dignity. The all-round respect he commanded was apparent when he attended the swearing-in ceremony of his successor Mohan Charan Majhi, the first BJP chief minister of Odisha. From the Prime Minister and Union home minister downwards, almost everyone at the swearing-in at Bhubaneswar last Wednesday saw the outgoing leader not as an adversary but as Odisha’s elder statesman."Swapan Dasgupta, for The Times of IndiaIn her column for The Indian Express, Tavleen Singh writes that in the last days of campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, PM Narendra Modi "manifested more hubris than I have seen in any other Indian politician."This, she argues, is why the Indian voters decided to pull down his "narcissistic fantasy.""It alienated not just ordinary voters but many people who desperately wanted Modi to return as prime minister because of the obsolete, Marxist economic ideas spouted by Rahul Gandhi during the campaign. I spent some time last week talking to some of India's richest businessmen and the consensus among them was that they believed that Modi was needed because the 'other lot' do not seem ready. But nearly everyone agreed that Modi needed to be pulled down from the hubristic perch on which he has been sitting. He needs to stop thinking of himself as a messenger of God and remember that he is just a politician."Tavleen Singh, for The Indian ExpressA decade since "most of Delhi’s legacy media began crawling, although they weren’t asked to bend," teacher and columnist Rahul Jayaram writes for Deccan Herald, asking whether the 'big media' which transformed itself into 'godi media' should be held accountable for what it did – and more importantly, for what it didn't, holding those in power to account."The question now is: With its reputation in tatters, what do we do with ‘big media’? Should they be allowed to get away as if business is as usual? With 10 years of hate-mongering, fake news, disinformation, dog-whistling, are they not to be held to account? Shouldn’t their licences be cancelled? There is a growing record of proven fake news that anchors have spread. A good part of the role of newer media outlets and some older legacy establishments away from Delhi was to call out their sold-out counterparts in the mainstream. How can one forget the image of so many TV anchors getting scores of inane “interviews” with Modi and not asking a single critical question?"Rahul Jayaram, for Deccan HeraldIn his column for The Economic Times, Joy Bhattacharjya explores why it took so long for the US to host the first-ever cricket World Cup on its soil, and whether this tournament could be a "possible inflection point" for the game.He says, "Cricket in the US is definitely there to stay. But let’s not get too unrealistic about it conquering American hearts anytime soon.""The World Cup is the big event that Cricket USA saw as its opportunity to kickstart its growth. And to give the event centre stage, a popup stadium in Nassau County, New York, was chosen, rather than smaller venues in Dallas or Fort Lauderdale in Florida. LA was also in consideration — before the need to broadcast in India/South Asia during prime time meant that any match in LA would have to start at an unearthly hour of the morning.As it turned out, plenty turned out for the India games at Eisenhower Park. Tickets started at $300 and climbed steeply. But the demand remained huge, and black market rates went through the roof. And while the drop-in pitch made stroke-making difficult, the closeness of the needle match of the India-Pakistan encounter ensured that most spectators went home happy."Joy Bhattacharjya, for The Economic TimesAt the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet last week, "the body language between (Nitin) Gadkari and (Shivraj Singh) Chouhan, and the PM’s loyalist ministers seemed a trifle stiff and awkward," writes Coomi Kapoor in her column for The Indian Express. She argues that post the polls, the PM is "now feeling the pressure from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who has publicly called for consensus in taking decisions.""Both Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Nitin Gadkari are in senior posts in the Cabinet because of the RSS’s insistence. Gadkari reportedly vetoed the suggestion that he be put in charge of the Maharashtra Assembly elections. An RSS functionary is believed to have conveyed that if Chouhan was not inducted into the Cabinet, he should be appointed party president, a move unacceptable to the Modi camp."Coomi Kapoor, for The Indian ExpressFormer Union Minister Manish Tewari, writing in Deccan Chronicle, throws light on what he says has been a largely unnoticed threat from China – their 'breakneck expansion' to dominate the legacy semiconductor market.He writes that the world should be concerned about China's activities since "even the most advanced militaries rely on a steady supply of legacy chips.""Ultimately, India will need a much more comprehensive and proactive strategy to secure its semiconductor supply chain and mitigate the risks of Chinese dominance. This should include: Strict prohibitions on Chinese-made chips in critical infrastructure and government systems. Contractors must be held to this standard as well. A robust monitoring regime to track the origin of every chip entering the country, down to the product and company level. Customs authorities need visibility into where chips were made, who owns the fab, and who did the design, in order to enforce restrictions. Currently, the government has little idea where the chips in imported goods are coming from, a dangerous blind spot."Manish Tewari, for Deccan ChronicleSwaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, in his piece for The Times of India, argues that as much as the "liberals would wish," the BJP's third term at the Centre won't be much different than its previous stints.He writes, "The BJP machine is in full operation. Non-bailable laws like UAPA, which the opposition and civil society claimed were being weaponised, can still be used. Do not expect Nitish Kumar or Naidu to object to such tactics.""One liberal has already predicted that the alliance will collapse in two years as BJP needs allies like Chandrababu Naidu (TDP) and Nitish Kumar (JDU) to survive. This is wishful thinking. Naidu and Nitish are political opportunists who have sometimes allied with BJP, and sometimes ditched it. They appear to have no ideological qualms, only self interest. Today, would either gain from defecting to INDIA bloc? Unlikely, and even if that were to happen, INDIA bloc would still be short of a majority. Even if it could scrape together some more seats from minor parties, such a coalition would be very fragile and easy to break. BJP is adept at securing defectors and cobbling majorities together."Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, for The Times of IndiaJ&K: Terror Surge May Polarise Voters, or Lead to Postponement of Assembly PollsOdisha's New CM is Mohan Majhi, a No-Nonsense Leader With an RSS BackgroundMohan Bhagwat's Speech Confirms That RSS' 'Open Licence' to Modi is Under ReviewNEET 2024: The Only Way To Restore Faith in the NTA Is Complete TransparencyWhy Don't Voters Show Solidarity With Women Who Speak Up Against Sexual Assault?Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra Could Seal Brand Modi's FateJ&K: Could 'Engineer' Rashid's Win in the Lok Sabha Pave the Way for MUF 2.0?T20 World Cup: Indian-origin Players Are Dominating the US Cricket Team and How!NDA Coalition Takes Office: Will India’s Fiscal Federalism Get Restored?In 4 Charts: Caste and Ministry Allocation in the Modi 3.0 CabinetThe 'Moral' Churning of the Political Situation After the ElectionsWhat's Keeping Indians From Donating and Receiving Blood?

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Sunday View: The Best Weekend Opinion Reads, Curated Just for You

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