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

We sifted through the papers to find the best opinion reads so you wouldn't have to.

The Status Quo is Untenable

In his column in The Indian Express, P Chidambaram flags concerns about the economic situation in the country. He alleges that the scenario is not as optimistic as reports put out by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for February 2022 suggest.

He adds that even though the RBI is supposed to "speak frankly, even critically, about the management of the economy... I was left wondering if they (both the reports) had been written by the same hand!"

Speaking about the importance of "durable" development in India, Chidambaram says:

Real and durable development will come only through disruption, radical reforms, less government control, increased competition, freedom, an atmosphere free from intimidation or fear, tolerance of differences and true federalism. In at least four of the five states, people seem to have voted for the status quo than change. In the bargain, whether they have voted against real and durable development, only time will tell.

P Chidambaram

Kashmir Ki Calumny

Upala Sen, in her column for The Telegraph, speaks about the recently-released Hindi film, The Kashmir Files. She says that films about Kashmir have never been about producing great cinema, but about instilling feelings of patriotism among Indians.

Both Kashmir Hamara Hai and Kashmir are about the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-48, also referred to as the First Kashmir War. According to (Meena) Gaur, in both films no matter who the hero is, the ultimate heroism rests with the Indian Armed Forces. The chief enemy is Pakistan. She cites a review of Kashmir from Bombay Chronicle of 1951, which urges every Indian to watch this “patriotic film”, and praises it for its “sincere treatment of a theme that is painful in the extreme".

Upala Sen

The Purest Kind

In his column in The Telegraph, Gopalkrishna Gandhi reflects upon the life of Indian freedom fighter JB Kripalani. Calling him the wittiest among all the freedom fighters, Gandhi says that Kripalani was not one to bow down if he did not believe in a particular cause. "Loyal he was to the Party; its flunkey he was not... Colleague he was to his peers; crony he was not," Gandhi says.

He also speaks of how Kripalani was recruited by Mahatma Gandhi in the latter's satyagraha campaign:

In 1917, when he launched his first satyagraha campaign in India in Champaran, Bihar, Gandhi was awaiting, in Motihari, what would have been his first arrest in India (but for a last-minute change of mind on the part of the administration). He was missing the quality of colleagueship he had known in South Africa. The struggle that was unfolding in India was going to be tougher, would last longer. Will he find the comrades he needed? That was when he received a letter from Kripalani, recalling their Santiniketan conversation, and asking him how he could help in the new satyagraha. Gandhi had ‘stumbled upon’ an exact equivalent of the colleagues from South Africa he was missing and hoping to find in India. “I read your affection in your eyes,” Gandhi replied to Kripalani, “in your expression, in your postures. May I be found worthy of all this love!”

Gopalkrishna Gandhi

China’s ‘No-Limits’ Pact With Russia Has its Limits

In an article for The Times of India, Shyam Saran argues that China is complicit and guilty by association for aligning itself with Russia regarding the war in Ukraine.

However, he says, China will be forced to take realistic decisions to avoid being trapped in the crosshairs of western sanctions on Russia. Thus, there seem to be limits to the Russia-China partnership, as China, for its own sake, is unlikely to go all the way in supporting Moscow's war efforts.

While Chinese rhetoric opposes sanctions generally, in practice, sanctions are being observed in segments where Chinese interests are closely tied with western entities. China will not follow the west in imposing sanctions on Russia but will not violate those sanctions which could expose China to economic damage. The lesson for China is sobering. Any similar military adventure to attack and occupy Taiwan could risk serious consequences.

Shyam Saran

Need to Look at Poll Data Without Bias

In an article for The Indian Express, Neelanjan Sircar says that corrections need to be initiated while collecting polling data during Indian elections, adding that generalisations and biases can create untruths and "specious" claims about entire caste or religious groups

To understand the changes in Indian electoral politics, many have turned to exit poll and post poll data. But uncritical or biased analysis of survey data can do more harm than good, by producing purported “facts” about caste and communities.

Neelanjan Sircar

Why Surge of Covid Infections in Other Countries Shouldn’t Worry Indians 

Chandrakant Lahariya, in an opinion piece for The Times of India, says that new COVID-19 waves in countries like China, South Korea and Vietnam should not be a cause of concern for India, despite a pre-print modelling study predicting that the country could see a fourth wave in June 2022.

Giving reasons in favour of his assurance, he says:

First, a majority of India’s population is estimated to have been exposed to the virus in the preceding two waves (thus developed immunity and protection). Second, nearly 97% of the adult population has received at least one vaccine shot. Third, the majority of the adult population has received their second jab in the second half of 2021. As the full vaccines are expected to provide protection for a minimum 9-to-12-months, the population is likely to be protected. Alongside, boosters are being rolled out for vulnerable populations which will work as a sort of insurance from future spread. Fourth, the most recent wave was in January-February and fresh infections (in people vaccinated or with past infection) are expected to have boosted the immune protection. Fifth, unlike Europe where initial Omicron surge was BA.1 sub-lineage (that’s why they are facing BA.2), the Omicron wave in India had BA.2 sub-lineage as dominant strain.

Chandrakant Lahariya

Kashmir Needs a Balm

Tavleen Singh, in her column for The Indian Express, says that the problems in Kashmir festered on for decades because "corrupt political leaders and corrupt jihadist groups profited hugely from the violence".

She argues that the fact that Kashmiri Pandits have not been rehabilitated till today is because of the inaction of ruling governments over the years: a crime, she says, that is nothing less than the "ethnic cleansing" that took place.

The ethnic cleansing of the Pandits from the Kashmir Valley was an atrocity that should have been rectified much, much earlier. In those camps in Jammu this is what everyone said and believed would happen, so they waited and they waited. It was only when no Indian Prime Minister, not even Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was able to give them the security they needed to be able to go home, that they began to build new lives elsewhere. In my opinion this is almost as much of a crime as the ethnic cleansing.

Tavleen Singh

Our Young & Old

In an article for The Tribune, Ira Pande speaks about the recently-concluded Assembly elections in five states, particularly Punjab.

Emphasising on the importance of women in determining the elections, she says that psephologists must take into account in their political calculations that "women represent one solid constituency that cuts across religion and caste".

Expressing high hopes about the future of Punjab as a vibrant state, she says:

Finally, after the joy and exultation of the AAP victory settles down, we all hope that Punjab gets the kind of governance that it has needed for a long, long time. One that is free of sycophants, family hangers-on, corrupt businessmen, self-serving and lazy bureaucrats and a police force that is bloated on the pickings thrown its way over the years.

Ira Pande

India and Japan: A Special Partnership

Fumio Kishida, in an article in The Indian Express, says that the relationship between India and Japan is inclusive and multi-layered, based on "cultural bonds, firm friendship, and common universal values".

He also calls Russia's invasion of Ukraine a violation of international law, adding that Moscow's unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force are unacceptable.

In the recent Japan-Australia-India-US (Quad) Leaders’ Video Conference, in which Prime Minister Modi and I participated, we concurred that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, such as this time, must not be tolerated in the Indo-Pacific region, and that it is precisely because of this situation that it is critical to further promote efforts toward the realisation of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.

Fumio Kishida

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