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

In her weekly column for The Indian Express, senior journalist Tavleen Singh reflects on the decline of political journalism in India, observing how the media now prioritises trivial political drama over addressing critical public issues.She writes, "Political journalism has deteriorated to a point when most of us so-called political pundits never seem to get beyond writing about political bickering and political speeches.""It was not always this way. There was a time when excellent investigative stories appeared in our newspapers and there was fine reportage to be seen on television, but this is rare these days. There are those who like to believe that it is because of government pressure that there has been such a decline in the media but in my view they are wrong. We are guilty of lazy journalism. And we have forgotten that we are supposed to be writing that first draft of history and to do this involves taking real issues more seriously than the shenanigans of political leaders."Tavleen Singh, The Indian ExpressIn his piece for the Deccan Herald, Capt GR Gopinath (retd) criticises political parties for exploiting Ambedkar’s image for personal gain while perpetuating casteist agendas. He argues that before considering One Nation, One Election (ONOE), India must first strive for unity as "One Nation, One People" to address its deep-rooted social divisions."When it dawns on you that not only the orthodox Brahmins but also other castes would not eat or drink what a Dalit had touched, you realise why Dalits feel a greater kinship with Muslims, Sikhs, or Buddhists. In my village Gorur on the picturesque banks of the river Hemavathy, in Hassan district, Dalits were referred to as ‘Adi Karanatakas’. As the name connotes, they were the first-born of this land; they pre-existed the rest of us who are all migrants...but the Dalits lived in a colony outside the village."Capt GR Gopinath (retd), Deccan HeraldIn the Deccan Herald, TCA Ranganathan discusses the growth of India's service sector and expresses concerns about its future amid shifting political and economic dynamics. "We are often celebrated as the ‘the office of the world’. Now, changes are again afoot in the world order. Ranging alongside are the debates in the USA – our primary market for services – by Donald Trump’s successful ‘MAGA’-based presidential campaign. The rapid, and often unsettling, political developments in the Middle East may also create problems. Further, the emergence and rapid progress of AI will soon start altering the composition and orientation of this ‘office’. Two important questions arise: Can we hold on to our services sector gains? Can we continue to grow our services exports per past rates or better? "TCA Ranganathan, Deccan HeraldIn his piece for the Hindustan Times, Indian diplomat and former Ambassador to China, Ashok K Kantha, suggests that India should adopt a patient and strategic approach to managing India-China relations. He stresses the importance of avoiding unrealistic expectations in this delicate relationship.He writes, "The paradigm governing the relationship for over three decades, already enfeebled, broke down in 2020, and the quest for a new equilibrium has an uncertain prognosis, with no agreed road map available.""In his statement in Lok Sabha on December 3, the EAM was correct in not suggesting a major forward movement in India-China relations, indicating instead that recent developments have set bilateral ties in the direction of “some improvement” and adding that the conclusion of the disengagement phase “allows us to consider other aspects of our bilateral engagement in a calibrated manner, keeping our national security interests first and foremost”. He was right in not encouraging the suggestion coming from certain quarters about a “reset” in India-China relations."Ashok K Kantha, Hindustan TimesIn The Indian Express, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan shares his views on the proposal to end the tradition of men removing their shirts before entering temples, calling it a step forward in Kerala's social progress. He links this issue to the legacy of Sree Narayana Guru, a central figure in Kerala’s caste reform movement, and stresses that it should be protected from sectarian political agendas."There is now an organised effort to establish Sree Narayana Guru as the exponent and proponent of Sanatana Dharma. However, he was neither an exponent nor proponent of Sanatana Dharma; rather, he was an ascetic who uprooted that dharma and proclaimed a new dharma for a new age. The Guru’s new-age dharma was not defined by any religion. He upheld a humanistic worldview that transcended religion. Locking that worldview within the framework of Sanatana Dharma would be a grave insult to the Guru. "Pinarayi Vijayan, The Indian ExpressIn his weekly column for The Indian Express, former finance minister P Chidambaram pays tribute to Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed away on 26 December, 2024, at 92Chidambaram reflects on his time working with Dr Manmohan Singh during the latter's tenure as finance minister, highlighting Singh’s courage and tenacity in navigating key national challenges, such as the 1991 rupee devaluation and the 2008 India-US nuclear deal"The story of how Dr Singh “spoke” to Dr C. Rangarajan, RBI deputy governor, and the latter’s famous words “I have jumped”, are now part of the folklore surrounding the devaluation. That single act stamped Dr Singh — the accidental finance minister — as a determined finance minister with nerves of steel to do what he thought was the right thing to do."P Chidambaram, The Indian ExpressDiplomat and former Rajya Sabha MP Pavan K Varma, in his article for the Hindustan Times, explores how the power dynamics between the British and Indians evolved during and after colonial rule, reflecting the shifting nature of British authority in India over time."There was one man though, who came some years later, who knew how to deal with the hubris of the British and taught many other Indian citizens to do the same. His name was Mahatma Gandhi. In 1922, when tried for stoking ‘disaffection’ against the British Empire, Gandhi told the bewildered British judge: ‘I am, therefore, here to submit not to a light penalty, but to the highest penalty. I do not ask for mercy. I do not ask for any extenuating act of clemency. I am here to invite and to cheerfully submit to the highest penalty that can be inflicted upon me for what in law is a deliberate crime and what I consider to be the highest duty of a citizen.’"Pavan K Varma, Hindustan TimesIn his weekly column for the Hindustan Times, senior journalist Karan Thapar advocates for India to follow countries like the UK, US, and Canada in allowing dual citizenship. He argues that this change in policy would benefit millions of individuals with connections to other nations through parentage or residence, without compromising their Indian identity."After all, if someone has secured this right, by parentage or residence, why should it not be permitted? Citizenship is not just a privilege conferred by birth. It can also be a reflection of multinational parentage as well as an expression of self-identification. For example, children of British and Indian parents have a right to be both British and Indian and it’s unfair to insist that if they want to be Indian, they must forsake the right to the other citizenship."Karan Thapar, Hindustan TimesWriting for The New Indian Express (TNIE), Gurbir Singh points out that comedian Kunal Kamra's recent tweet, which calls out delivery companies like Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy for exploiting workers, highlights a bigger issue: the growing gap in workers' rights.He asserts that the decline of traditional labor unions, combined with government policies that have weakened workers' protections, has opened the door for e-commerce to thrive—at the expense of small retail businesses."He’s no Datta Samant or a George Fernandes, but more power to Kamra as he steps forward as the voice of the voiceless. Social media is full of delivery groups working for the Zeptos and Blinkits singing their appreciation for Kamra taking up their cause. But what has happened to the institutional forms of collective bargaining? The trade unions and grassroots organizations who traditionally stood up against work place exploitation and for consumer rights?" Gurbir Singh, The New Indian ExpressThe H1B Backlash Spells Big Trouble for India's Middle-ClassRising Housing Inflation Threatens India's GDP Growth, Consumption PatternsFive Reasons Why RSS-BJP Equation Was the Major Political Story of 2024Dr Manmohan Singh — You Were, Are, and Always Will be King!GST on Caramel Popcorn: The Weird Follies of an Imperfect Indirect Tax RegimePresidential Pardons Aren't Exclusive to US, India Just Does It More Covertly

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

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