advertisement
In his weekly column for The Indian Express, veteran Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram explains how the government’s argument that “the middle class taxpayer will pay less tax under the new tax regime is demonstrably wrong.”
To do this, he first arrives at a definition of the ‘middle class,’ justifies his argument with tax liability calculations and analyses the Union government’s philosophy of ‘spending without saving.’
Although the Animal Welfare Board of India has now withdrawn its initiative to celebrate 14 February as ‘Cow Hug Day’, this editorial in The Telegraph, reminds us how the Hindutva project thrives on its “ingenious ability to weaponise markers — religious or cultural.”
As social media goes berserk over matters of ‘cow consent,’ the piece details out how the harmless cow, over the years, has been “transformed into an instrument of political aggrandisement” and has helped the government deflect attention from these “serious lapses”:
In his piece for The Indian Express, Pratap Bhanu Mehta reflects on the series of events that transpired at the Supreme Court regarding Justice Gowri’s appointment to the Madras High court.
Instead of focussing on whether Gowri is worthy of appointment, Mehta implores his readers to “focus on the institutional dynamics at play”:
The top court’s conduct in the case has added to already diminishing trust in the Collegium system, “undermined its own legitimacy,” and made even those opposed to the executive, wonder what the judiciary is up to.
The Chinese Balloon drifting through the US airspace may or may not have been able to collect “extraordinary intelligence” but it did succeed in positioning itself as a “very obvious dare” by blatantly violating the country’s sovereignty ,” writes Manish Tewari for Deccan Chronicle.
But what could have been the reasons for China’s willingness to push the envelope vis-a-vis the United States?
Tewari speculates:
“A partial explanation could be that, for the past one decade, since President Xi Jinping’s ascent to power, China’s belligerence has had a virtual free run without being proscribed in any effective manner whatsoever"
“Perhaps emboldened by the US preoccupation once again with Europe and Nato, the Chinese may have decided to map the limits of US’s tolerance almost as a war game would do”
” While Russia keeps the battle of attrition in Ukraine on a slow burn, thereby absorbing the strategic and tactical attention of the US and its Nato allies, China probably feels it has the space to test its own strategic doctrines “
“A purely defensive reaction by the United States in only neutralising the balloon may actually validate the Chinese thesis that the US is risk-averse"
Before critiquing the Modi government’s response during the Budget session in the parliament, Tavleen Singh, in her piece for The Indian Express, applauds the Prime Minister for something he said:
“Amid speeches filled with noise, fury and chest-thumping, the Prime Minister said something in Parliament last week that had real resonance for me. While attacking the Congress Party for its ‘abysmal’ governance in decades of single-party rule, he said that when he came to office he had found ‘holes’ in the foundation that Congress claims to have laid for the modern governance of India.”
And then she goes on to add that if “only the Prime Minister had concentrated on making this very important point and engaged his hecklers and critics on the opposition benches to debate this with him, we may have seen a meaningful discussion in Parliament instead of chest-thumping, slogans, and mediocre poetry”
But what came in the way? ‘The Adani problem.’
And why is that?
Pathaan being spoken of in the same breath as recent mega-blockbusters like RRR, Baahubali and Dangal, is a rare feat in Modi’s India.
Why and how?
Mukul Kesavan answers in his piece for The Telegraph:
The reasons for the movie taking cinema halls by the storm are many, but it is predominantly SRK’s mass appeal “that allows him this room for manoeuvre.”
But who are these governors Raychaudhuri is hinting at in his piece?
Jagdeep Dhankhar of West Bengal (now Vice-President of India), Arif Mohammad Khan of Kerala, and RN Ravi of Tamil Nadu.
Shedding light on recent examples, he illustrates how these constitutional heads have constantly been fighting pitch battles with the state governments on behalf of the Centre.
And what is a possible alternative?
Nearly 500 Adivasi families of the Christian community in the districts of Kanker, Kondagaon and Narayanpur in North Bastar in Chhattisgarh have faced determined attacks on them starting from October last year.
In December 2022 alone, 1,500 people had to flee their homes, taking shelter in government-arranged camps, churches, houses of relatives and friends.
Churches across the districts, including the main church in Narayanpur and “prayer rooms” have been vandalised and in some cases burnt.
While RSS-affiliated organisations term this as their “ghar wapsi campaign” against Adivasis from the Christian community in Chattisgarh, Brinda Karat, in her piece for The Indian Express, explains how this reflects “the project of the Hindutva-isation of Adivasi cultures” and violates the constitutional right to freedom of conscience.
In an articulate, poignant appeal, Vandana Vedantam writing for Deccan Herald, tells us what today’s children, the victims of a pandemic-ridden world, desperately need:
“...an education that teaches them courage and the determination to make the most of whatever life offers them.”
And what principles should one look towards for an education like this?
Those propounded by renowned educationist J Krishnamurti whose idea of the ideal education pushed students to live with questions and pursue their “perennial quest to end all illusion and live a life free of conflict.”
Vedantam’s piece doesn’t end with this. She highlights all that is wrong with our schools today and says:
More from The Quint:
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: undefined