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

In his column for The Indian Express, P Chidambaram sharply criticizes the United States under President Donald Trump (in his second term) as the "self-appointed new Sheriff" of the world. He focuses on the dramatic US military operation "Absolute Resolve" on 2-3 January 2026, where American forces invaded Venezuela, captured elected President Nicolás Maduro from his palace without casualties and took him to New York for trial.India went unnoticed before and after Absolute Resolve. Mr Trump has already snubbed Mr Narendra Modi twice with his claims: once, on ending the India-Pakistan war and next, on India reducing its imports of Russian oil to please Mr Trump. The government is so scared of earning Mr Trump’s wrath that the official statement on Venezuela did not condemn the capture of President Maduro or even mention the role of the United States. The statement referred to “recent developments in Venezuela”, and called upon “all concerned to address issues peacefully through dialogue”, as if it were counseling on a dispute over the score at a football match! On this issue, India is isolated among the five founders of BRICS and from Europe. Despite the boast of Vishwaguru, India is losing voice and relevance in world affairs. As a former Indian Ambassador said, ‘what India said would not make a difference.'P Chidambaram, The Indian ExpressIn this piece for The Indian Express, Sukhmani Malik reflects on the killing of Renee Nicole Good, a 37 year-old US citizen shot dead by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, and uses the tragedy to explore clashing visions of American identity. She argues that the Trump administration’s response — including attempts to define Americans narrowly as conservative, white, Christian, and native-born — highlights a deeper problem in what the US stands for.The Trump administration and many who support it, in their words and actions, seem to suggest that the only answer to the question, “Who is an American?” is “conservative, Christian, White, and born in the US”. Despite checking most of these boxes, in Trump’s America, Good lost her life, and in her death, the administration is trying to strip her of her dignity. Thankfully, for those who fall in these categories and those who don’t, many in the US offer a different definition. Through registering dissent, voting, and standing in solidarity, they define Americans as diverse, compassionate, and neighbourly. As these two ideas of a nation collide, the answer to the question, “What does America stand for?” hangs in the balance. Sukhmani Malik, The Indian ExpressIn this column for The Telegraph, historian and writer Ramachandra Guha zeroes in on the Congress government's performance in Karnataka, highlighting how the intensifying power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is worsening the state's administrative challenges.He argues that what began as an alleged power-sharing understanding has turned into intense factionalism, pulling focus away from pressing public issues like infrastructure, economic development and service delivery.These then are the achievements of the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka; relative communal peace and a targeted welfarism. It is hard, if not impossible, to think of any other positive outcomes of thirty one months of Congress rule in my home state. The signs of administrative indifference and incompetence are particularly visible in the capital, Bengaluru, where the deteriorating conditions of the roads and the ensuing traffic gridlocks have caused much distress to the city’s residents. The national and even international press have carried a series of stories of how the city that is the showpiece of India’s IT revolution faces stagnation and decay owing to the collapse of its infrastructure.Ramachandra Guha, The TelegraphIn this column for The New Indian Express, author Shankkar Aiyar explains how Donald Trump’s controversial tariff policy in the United States is facing a major legal challenge in the US Supreme Court over whether the president has the authority to impose sweeping import duties using an emergency law (IEEPA). What are the possible outcomes? The best-case scenario for Trump is that the Supreme Court upholds the tariffs entirely—a jackpot that only about one in three punters on Kalshi.com is currently betting on. The worst-case outcome—and the jackpot for global exporters—is a total strike-down. Beyond the gamblers, even the legal cognoscenti—interpreting the “tell signs” from other rulings—suspect that Trump may lose. This would mean rollback of the Liberation Day tariffs and the start of a “refund crisis” for the more than $150 billion collected.Shankkar Aiyar, The New Indian ExpressIn his column for the Hindustan Times, journalist Karan Thapar critiques the current election orchestrated by Myanmar’s military junta, describing it as a sham designed to legitimize continued military rule rather than a genuine democratic process. He also talks about how the polls exclude Aung San Suu Kyi’s popular National League for Democracy (banned after its past landslide wins), with her and many leaders jailed on politically motivated charges exceeding 20 years.The silence from New Delhi suggests India has no reservations if Gen Aung Hliang continues to rule. If that’s true, it would be unbecoming of the world’s largest democracy. Our government has repeatedly and loudly expressed its concerns about the election that will be held in February in Bangladesh — it has criticised the banning of the Awami League — but it’s kept silent about the ludicrous sham in Myanmar. This can only damage our vaunted democratic credentials and lower our standing in South East Asia. Nothing that the junta in Myanmar has done or may do to restrain and curb militant groups that act in our Northeast warrants our silence and justifies the impact on our country’s image.Karan Thapar, Hindustan TimesManish Tewari, in his piece for the Deccan Chronicle argues that the US military operation in Venezuela — including air strikes and the capture and rendition of President Nicolás Maduro to the US — is a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter. Tewari contends that the unilateral use of force against a sovereign nation without Security Council authorisation or a legitimate self-defence claim undermines the foundational prohibition against force in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.A precedent that endangers the entire system: The broader implications of this episode are deeply destabilising. If a permanent member of the Security Council can openly violate the charter and abduct a foreign President without consequence, the message to the rest of the world is unmistakable — rules apply selectively, and power decides legality. Smaller and weaker states will draw the obvious conclusion that sovereignty offers no protection against the coercive reach of dominant powers. Others may emulate the precedent, citing “exceptional circumstances” of their own. The cumulative effect will be the erosion of the prohibition on the use of force into a discretionary norm, honored only when convenient. This is precisely the outcome the UN Charter was meant to prevent.Manish Tewari, Deccan ChronicleIn this piece for The New Indian Express, Prabhu Chawla argues that the United States needs India far more than India needs the US, particularly in the context of strategic competition with China and global economic shifts. He draws attention to how President Donald Trump’s approach, which is framing diplomacy as personal dominance rather than mutual partnership, has strained ties with India.New Delhi offers Washington three priceless assets: a vast and youthful market that sustains corporate ambition, a strategic geography that buffers the Indo-Pacific from Chinese hegemony, and a political stability that most major democracies now envy. America’s future greatness depends on the strength and equality of its partnerships, not on the loudness of its commands. India represents that future—confident, collaborative, and consequential. If Washington chooses confrontation, it will isolate itself from the very power most capable of balancing China and ensuring a stable Asia. But if it chooses cooperation with India, it has a chance to renew its global relevance and moral leadership.Prabhu Chawla, The New Indian ExpressIn this piece for the Deccan Chronicle, Dr Suman Sahai highlights the essential role that women farmers play in global agriculture and argues that empowering them is both a moral imperative and a practical necessity for food security. She points out that women make up a large share of agricultural labour in many countries, yet they often lack equal access to land, credit, technology, training and markets. The thrust to “modernise” agriculture by mechanisation has implications for women farmers, who constitute a large part of the agricultural workforce. Who really benefits from this focus on mechanisation? Both men and women farmers? Not really. Farm machinery is almost always made for men, keeping in mind their physique and muscular strength. This makes it unsafe and difficult for use by women, who are built much smaller. In addition, the new machines do new things like transplanting, which often displaces women from this labour-intensive work, which gave them incomes. While men take advantage of the mechanisation boom, women are left out of capacity building and training programmes, preventing them from using such machines in future too.Dr Suman Sahai, Deccan ChronicleIn this piece for the Hindustan Times, Lalita Panicker looks at cancer care through a gender lens. She emphasizes on how lack of awareness about symptoms, social stigma, and, often, abandonment by family impede timely and quality treatment for women from the lower income groups.A research study commissioned by Sanjeevani and conducted by Nirmala Niketan College, Mumbai, on the significance of psychosocial support for cancer patients and survivors, highlights that women disproportionately experience anxiety, fear of recurrence, emotional distress, and social isolation. These challenges are often intensified by caregiving responsibilities, financial dependence, and cultural conditioning that discourages emotional expression. The study clearly establishes that unaddressed psychological distress adversely impacts treatment adherence, quality of life, and recovery outcomes. Reflecting on her own experience, Ahluwalia says, “The physical and psychological pain after the first chemotherapy became unbearable” — a sentiment echoed by thousands of women across the country. Lalita Panicker, Hindustan TimesI Grew Up in New Zealand. Blocking a Sikh Procession Isn't the Kiwi Way of LifeBharat Taxi’s Big Pitch Comes With Fine-Print RisksNine 2026 Resolutions to Recharge India's Democracy & EconomyJaya Bachchan and the Media-Friendly Myth of the 'Bitter' WomanWhat the Unnao Case Reveals About Law, Power, and ProcessBeyond 'Ikkis': 1971 War Legend Arun Khetarpal's Legacy of Courage and Duty

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

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Topics: Venezuela KARNATAKA Myanmar