No Apologies, No Resignations
Former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram, in his column for The Indian Express, recalls the 2016 tragedy of the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Kolkata, killing 27 people. Chidambaram draws its parallel with the recent Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat and asks if the authorities responsible for this incident will be held accountable.
"After the incident, there were the usual arrests of minor functionaries (not the owners of the contractor or the sub-contractor companies), the usual statements of shock and sympathy led by the Prime Minister, the usual visits to the hospital (which, overnight, got a new coat of paint to welcome the PM), the usual announcement of compensation, the usual promise of an independent and thorough enquiry, and the usual silence on resignation. The word ‘accountability’ is absent in India’s political system of governance. After the tragedy, no one apologised, no one offered to resign and, as the cynics would say, in all likelihood no one will be held accountable and punished. If God is listening — to borrow the words of Mr Modi — will God send a message to the people of Gujarat?"P Chidambaram
An Unlikely Embrace
For The Telegraph, senior journalist and writer Karan Thapar questions PM Narendra Modi’s assertion that he is an ‘Ambedkar bhakt’. Thapar cites heavily from Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s recently published book Ambedkar: A Life, to underline that much of what Ambedkar believed in and propagated, stands in stark contrast to the politics and policies of the BJP.
“The most glaring difference emerges over Hinduism and Hinduraj. Whilst the BJP is increasingly committed to a majoritarian concept of India, Ambedkar believed that would be a disaster. “If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt be the greatest calamity for this country,” he wrote. “No matter what the Hindus say, Hinduism is a menace to liberty, equality and fraternity. On that account it is incompatible with democracy. Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost.” Ambedkar, in fact, had a deep dislike of Hinduism. “Hindu civilization is a diabolical contrivance to enslave humanity. Its proper name would be infamy.” It seems he didn’t like Hindus either. “Hindus are a … race of pygmies and dwarfs, stunted in stature and wanting in stamina … there can be a better or a worse Hindu. But a good Hindu there cannot be.” Could it be the BJP is unaware of Ambedkar’s views? Or does it assume the rest of us are ignorant and unlikely to find out? Or has it embraced Ambedkar for cynical and expedient reasons and, therefore, overlooked the stark and embarrassing differences?”Karan Thapar
Behind All Social Media Ills: Not Privacy, but Anonymity
Congress leader and lawyer Manish Tewari, in the Deccan Chronicle, explores the enormous challenges that anonymity poses to people’s safety and sanity on the internet.
“Today, online platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, etc., are awash with anonymous accounts. These accounts use fake names and personas to engage in online activities. There may be certain positives to being anonymous or pseudonymous in the virtual civilisation including and not limited to freedom to air unorthodox views without fear of repercussions. However, unchecked proliferation of anonymous accounts has weaponised the Internet, turning it into a veritable orgy of hate, violence, intimidation and vitriol. One of the earliest cases of tragedy by an anonymity dates back to 2006 wherein a 13-year-old in the United States committed suicide after an anonymous user on MySpace cyber bullied her. The perpetrator turned out to be her adult neighbour using a pseudonymous profile. This case illustrates the dangers that anonymity poses. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since then in terms of laws that proscribe or restrict anonymity on the Internet.”Manish Tewari
Morbi Was More Than a Calamity
In The Indian Express, Tavleen Singh reflects about the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy and the political response that followed.
“Meanwhile, someone at the highest levels of the BJP needs to take charge of ensuring that the social media trolls already deployed to blame everything on ‘urban Naxals’ are told to shut up. There are those who are already screaming about how ‘politics’ is being played over the pyres of the dead. They should be ordered to shut up too or at least learn the difference between politics and governance. The people who lost their lives that afternoon when they took their small children, dressed in festive finery, onto the bridge for some thrills and fun died not because there was a failure of politics but because there was an unforgivable, criminal failure of governance. Unless there are special courts set up for quick trials and punishment this will happen again and again and again.”Tavleen Singh
Arsenal and Utopia
In his column for The Telegraph, author Mukul Kesavan delves into a pet peeve of his when it comes to football fandom — having to wrap his head around the all-too-common phenomenon of players switching sides after being ‘bought’ by a club. Arsenal is set to play against Chelsea this weekend, and as a fan of the former, Kesavan isn’t quite sure how to suddenly switch from cheering for the former Arsenal player Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to having to boo him, now that he has been bought by the latter.
“The Aubameyang Conundrum, or how to reconcile your loyalty to the team with the knowledge that all its members are guns for hire, remains. What is it that drives fandom in league sport? From a marketing point of view, fans are the ultimate brand victims. But I suspect the real thrill of rooting for a club is the daft sense of community it creates. Earlier this year, I found myself in a pub in north London after an Arsenal win. Grown men and women (mostly men) were high-fiving strangers, shouting “North London is Red”, buying each other drinks and generally making a happy exhibition of themselves. It was utterly transient and the sweetest thing. We were, for a moment, equal citizens of a principality without a ruler. Ours was a state of perfect fellowship, a glimpse of Utopia.”Mukul Kesavan
The Comeback ‘King’
For The Hindu, Stanly Johny analyses the long-standing popularity of Benjamin Netanyahu, whose coalition has won a majority in the legislative elections of Israel. The author recounts how Netanyahu was written off multiple times in the history of Israeli politics, only to silence all his critics and naysayers each time.
“In his long political career that started in the early 1990s, Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu was written off several times. And every time, he made a stronger comeback. In 1996, he became Israel’s youngest Prime Minister, and the first to be born in the state of Israel. After losing the 1999 election heavily to Labour’s Ehud Barak, Mr. Netanyahu would go for a brief retirement, but would return to power in 2009. His hold over Israeli politics would be challenged again in 2019 after the fall of his government. In back-to-back elections, Mr. Netanyahu failed to form a stable coalition and three corruption cases cast shadows over his career. In 2021, his rivals from across Israel’s political spectrum joined hands to form a coalition with the main goal of keeping Bibi out of power. But after 17 months in opposition, Mr. Netanyahu made another stunning comeback this week, with his right-religious coalition securing a comfortable majority in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. The era of Mr. Netanyahu, ‘King Bibi’ for his loyal supporters, is a present continuous one.”Stanly Johny
Deadline Postponed?
Coomi Kapoor, for The Indian Express, writes on the central government’s promise to have the new parliament building ready by 2022, and how it was an ambitious prospect to begin with.
“The deadline seemed a trifle ambitious given that Sir Herbert Baker took six years (1921 to 1927) to complete the original building. But the government worked on the premise that “Modi hai to mumkin hai (If it’s Modi, it’s possible)”. The deadline was later extended to December this year, with the assurance that the winter session of Parliament would be held in the new triangular structure. But all indications are that the completion date will be deferred yet again, even though all the parties involved – the CPWD, Tata Projects Ltd and architect Bimal Patel’s firm – are working under extreme pressure. Several unforeseen hurdles, apart from the COVID pandemic, cropped up. The contractors were constrained by the fact that they are working next to the existing Parliament House, which is a heritage building.”Coomi Kapoor
Capitalism and the Future of Train Travel
Shashi Warrier, in the Deccan Chronicle, reminisces about a time when chance encounters with like-minded strangers during train travels would lead to passengers developing friendships and meaningful conversations.
“Alex and I had first met on a train in the early 1990s, and over the first hour we brought each other up to speed. Alex, an engineer, had started his own business, dealing in home appliances, while I had continued muddling along, writing a bit, teaching a bit, just about getting along. And, of course, I’d got married in the meanwhile. After we had caught up, the conversation inevitably turned to how much rail travel has changed since we first met. A passenger in the row directly in front of us was speaking on a cellphone, giving very loud instructions on how to handle a package. We could hear only his end of the conversation and I was glad I didn’t have to work with him.”Shashi Warrier
Make Time To Flirt With Life
In her column for The Times of India, actor and writer Pooja Bedi makes a case for having a flirtatious attitude towards our life and to “to start winking” at it. Bedi writes that this will help us lead a healthier, happier, and more self-sufficient life.
“Stop calling your meal ‘cheat meals’ and rename them ‘treat meals’. Make 3 incredible meals a weekly focus, whether you have them cooked for you, cook them yourself or order them in. Add a daring or drama element into your life on a monthly basis. Be it a new hobby, sport, telling someone a long buried secret, making an occasion about simple moments, visiting a place you have never been to before, start to develop a carefree attitude to all the bullshit that surrounds you or shows up on the news, and most importantly, identify 1 thing every month that brings a twinkle or gleam to your eyes and figure ways to integrate it into your way of life. It also works like magic to work on developing your own charm, confidence, and to give others, even random strangers compliments when you encounter them or even pass them.”Pooja Bedi
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