| Tempting as it might be to score political points on Katchatheevu, India’s strategic interests don’t lie in securing control of a tiny island, wrote Praveen Swami. Instead, the real challenge India faces is containing China’s growing influence in Sri Lanka. New Delhi could initiate a constructive dialogue on sustainable use of the fishing grounds in the Palk Straits that respects the rights of communities on both shores. For its part, Sri Lanka must be encouraged to temper its use of coercion against Tamil Nadu fishing workers. Ethnicity, nationhood, and greed have all collided to poison the waters around Katchatheevu for too long. Two nations, and two peoples, have paid an unacceptable and unnecessary price.
Vir Sanghvi wrote scathingly about Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, and looked at how we arrived here. Do not make the mistake of seeing what is happening right now in isolation, he wrote. It is the result of a process that began a long time ago and every political party is to blame. Congress put repressive laws and amendments onto the statute books. And when it comes to unfounded and irresponsible allegations of corruption, Kejirwal may well be the undisputed champion of the world.
There is much talk about the Modi cult. But Saroj Giri wrote about the cult of Modi critics. He calls it the cult of the loser, caught in a loop. Its raison d’être of anti-Modism seems to be riddled with self-goals and self-harm, encoded and unstoppable. They are like clueless nawabs of Premchand’s Shatranj ke Khiladi.
The overt friendship between the Modi government and broader corporate India is beginning to show some cracks, wrote TCA Sharad Raghavan. A few big corporates are happy, but most of the private sector doesn’t seem to be. The fault for this lies on both sides — on the government, for several of its stated and unstated policies, and on our corporate leadership that is too content staying quiet about its concerns.
Now to our fine Ground Reports offerings.
What brings joy to India’s elderly? Monami Gogoi and Almina Khatoon wrote this delightful, heart-warming article after meeting several older couples. Older people in India are traditionally expected to detach themselves from worldly pursuits and immerse themselves in vanaprastha ashram. They attend RWA meetings and bhajans, look after grandchildren, and even go for spiritual retreats. There is always the stereotype of laughter clubs in neighbourhood parks. But with WhatsApp, Facebook, and unlimited streaming content, the source of ‘grey joy’ is changing.
Dating apps, pre-marital romance and the live-in culture are on the rise in small-town India. So is the political and social backlash. Sabah Gurmat travelled to Varanasi and Aligarh to speak to live-in couples to see how they navigate the challenges of pesky neighbours, hostile landlords and vindictive parents. Strategy is key. Many present themselves as siblings, some wear mangal-sutras and sindoor and others are just happy landlords only ask for the man’s documents.
While all the attention is on the giant, glitzy Vantara, Akanksha Mishra dug deep into data to find out the real story of Indian zoos. There is a severe workforce crisis in zoos across India. Of 74 zoos analysed by ThePrint, 60 per cent are understaffed. |
