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

A World Without Water

Chennai, which flooded over in 2015, is now facing one of the most acute water shortages in the country in recorded history. In a guest piece for The Indian Express, environmentalist G Sundarrajan discusses how this crisis is a result of human follies, even though it might be tempting to blame it on larger, abstract “environmental factors”.

"Chennai has seen some rain-deficient years in the past. While it received less rainfall last year than usual, it could still manage the drought. So, to blame low rainfall is clearly an attempt by the authorities to pass the buck. Such excuses offer a convenient blindfold against actual solutions. The crisis Chennai is currently facing is drought-accumulation stress: in other words, our own failure to take concrete steps over the the past decades. Several of us saw this coming. Chennai’s water need is about 12 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) per year and desilting all the four reservoirs would take its capacity to well over the city’s requirements. That has not happened!" - G Sundarrajan in The Indian ExpressHeat Waves All Over — There’s No More Getting Away

In his column for The Hindu, author Ruchir Joshi examines a point ancillary Sundarrajan’s, saying that the warning signs for this kind of climatic debacle have been evident for quite some time – and that the chickens are coming home to roost across the world.

He also makes a crucial argument for how the old ways of dealing with what we now know are climate change effects may no longer work. For long, those with privilege have turned a blind eye to these climate anomalies by ‘escaping’ unfavourable weather. Now, however, the options of escape, again due to climate change, are slowly but surely shrinking.

"Surviving extreme conditions depends on being able to get away from them — either by going inside to a warmer, dryer or cooler shelter, or by going away from the site of the undesirable weather. Normally, people at the deprived end of the scale have limited options while the wealthy have a choice of both. Classically, the desi rich and middle-classes could sit in their cooled houses or go away to the mountains or go to ‘phoren’ for the summer. But this year, I’ve seen air-conditioners go on strike in some of the poshest Delhi homes, there have been forest fires in the Himalayas, and as for going abroad, it’s not exactly cool there either.  " - Ruchir Joshi in The HinduInside Track: Congress In Limbo

For those of you, who like us, like your gossip to be more political than page 3, Coomi Kapoor’s weekly column for The Indian Express must be a staple. This week Kapoor gives us the lowdown on the Congress’ presidential turmoil, Kapil Sibal’s poetry, Alpesh Thakor’s Parliament ambitions, new competition for Derek O’Brien’s within the Trinamool Congress, and more.

"A group of first-time YSR Congress MPs were noticed in Parliament’s Central Hall, intently studying portraits on the wall of some of the biggest names in Indian politics. They especially examined the placement of a recently installed portrait of  Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The YSR Congress wants to put forward a demand that the portrait of the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh CM and father of party president and present CM Jaganmohan Reddy, be installed in Central Hall. The problem is that there is not an inch of space to accommodate another frame. Vajpayee’s portrait had been squeezed in with great difficulty. A friendly journalist suggested that the party should instead petition for a statue of YSR Reddy to be erected in the Parliament complex." - Coomi Kapoor in The Indian ExpressLet Gandhi Be Our Guide To Show How Not To Hate In Ram’s Name

From sansad to sadak – Parliament to the streets – Ram has continued to dominate the narrative post-elections, writes Sagarika Ghose. But why has the name of Ram, which was once (and still remains) a humble greeting in many parts of the country suddenly acquired this toxic aggression?

In her column for The Times Of India, Ghose argues that the name of Ram should not be misused in the same way the phrase ‘Allah hu Akbar’ is misused by perpetrators of terror attacks. Instead, the doctrine of Ram that we should follow is the Gandhian model of Ram rajya- a state defined by justice for all.

"Democracy does not mean majoritarianism because in democracies electoral majorities are not permanent. The majority choice today may be the minority choice of tomorrow, a majority viewpoint today could become a minority decades later. That’s why our Constitution is at pains to protect all minorities of religion, political views, sexual orientation or language, in the belief that any individual of any community could find herself in a minority at some time or another. After all, a democratic mandate is the voters’ collective opinion at a given moment and is subject to change. Religion is a private matter. When religion is made into a political weapon to project a false majoritarianism, it undermines democracy in the guise of “majority rule”. It’s argued that Jai Shri Ram is a riposte to Allahu Akbar, the slogan sometimes heard after acts of terror. But should Lord Ram be pressed into service to mimic those who misuse a call to prayer as a signature of militancy? Jai Shri Ram is also seen as a reaction to “Muslim appeasing” secularist politicians. Yet using political patronage to play identity politics is practised by Hindutva politicians as well. Note how government funds are being used in states like UP to promote cow protection. How then are Hindu appeasers different from Muslim appeasers?  " - Sagarika Ghose in The Times Of IndiaFifth Column: No Rule Of Law, No Democracy

While she usually isn’t too hard on Prime Minister Modi, Tavleen Singh in her column for The Indian Express this week criticises the Prime Minister for his stance on mob violence. The last couple of weeks have seen heinous instances of mob lynching (on religious grounds) being reported from across the country.

To add to that, there’s also been an instance of a BJP MLA, Akash Vijayvargiya, publicly assaulting a municipal officer with a cricket bat. Singh says that the Prime Minister must condemn all forms of crowd justice with a stronger voice, and that he can start by suspending Vijayvargiya from the BJP.

"As I listened, I found myself wishing that the Prime Minister had put more emphasis on the significance of the rule of law for the survival of democracy. I found myself wishing that he had pointed out that without the rule of law there can be no democracy. If he had said something like this, it is possible that his message would have been clearer to his partymen and to the killer mobs who now defile Ram himself with their craven brutality. It is no longer about cows. It is about the rule of the mob. No excuse is needed for violence. In the case of Akash Vijayvargiya, an MLA in his own right, when asked why he was beating up the officials in Indore, he defended himself proudly. On camera he announced that it was his policy to first make a polite request and, when this was refused, he did not think it wrong to use violence.He was arrested for attacking the officials. But, has so far not been sacked from the BJP. What signal does this send?  " - Tavleen Singh in The Indian ExpressHow BJP Handles Power Will Decide Future Of Opposition

In his column for The Times Of India, Swapan Dasgupta cites examples of previous dispensations with a mandate like the BJP’s at present to put forth an argument on the state of the Opposition. Dasgupta says that the resurgence (or not) of the Opposition parties will now depend more on how the BJP sustains its dominance, rather than what they do themselves to get out of disarray.

"The past isn’t always a guide to the future, but contemporary history suggests that there is a direct correlation between the failures of the ruling party and the revival of the opposition. At present the BJP seems all-powerful and has spread itself both geographically and socially. Its spectacular growth coupled with its organisational rigour has even led to it being equated with the pre-1967 Congress — a dominant party with the opposition working at the margins. However, nothing is permanent. The future of Indian politics will depend not so much on how the opposition is able to cope with its present disarray but more on how the BJP manages its dominance. So far, the ruling party has demonstrated stupendous energy and political imagination. The famed political machine that Amit Shah has built is no doubt centred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal appeal but that appeal in turn has been constructed on the strength of meticulous calculation and the willingness to accept the most daunting of challenges.  " - Swapan Dasgupta in The Times Of IndiaAcross The Aisle: One Nation, One Election, Many Fears

In his weekly column for The Indian Express, P. Chidambaram talks about Modi 2.0’s first and newest pitch – One Nation, One Election. Discussing the cons of such an election system, Chidambaram also emphasises that post-elections the Modi government had the opportunity to move away from superficial issues like nationalism, and focus on more hard-hitting ground problems like jobs and farmer distress. However, instead, it chose the make elections the issue that it addresses first after coming back to power.

"In a federal parliamentary democracy, the council of ministers in the Central government and the state government shall be collectively responsible, respectively, to the House of the People [Article 75(3)] and to the Legislative Assembly [Article 164(2)]. The ‘responsibility’ to the Legislature means that the council of ministers must enjoy the confidence of the majority in the Legislature every day and every hour. The moment the council of ministers loses the support of the majority, it should go. The notion that such a council of ministers can continue in office until another council of ministers proved it has the support of the majority is antithetical to the fundamental principles of a parliamentary democracy. Suppose a government is voted out, but no other person can muster the support of a majority in the Legislature, will the defeated prime minister or chief minister continue in office? That would be parliamentary sacrilege. Mid-term election is the only legitimate answer." - P. Chidambaram in The Indian ExpressLet Tribals Own And Operate Forests

Tribal land rights don’t often make headlines in this country, but in his weekly column for the The Times Of India this week, Swaminathan Aiyar brings attention to a policy change that might affect tribal livelihood exponentially. In a draft amendment to the Forest Act (originally reported in Business Standard) the ministry of environment proposes enhanced powers for the police and bureaucrats in dealing with forest tribals to improve forest cover.

This has raised concerns of a unholy nexus between the police, forest bureaucracy and corporations that might deprive tribals of their forest rights. Aiyar, in this piece, argues that if tweaked sensibly, the Forest Act can be beneficial to all, as an example from Gujarat shows.

"The old Forest Act certainly needs updating. If done wisely, this can be a win-win for all concerned. Alas, few things in India are done well, so fears of a disaster should be taken seriously. FRA defined bamboo as a grass, not a tree. Hence it vested ownership and collection rights with tribals, not the government. But other laws have been interpreted as saying that bamboo inside forests is government property and cannot be cut by tribals, whereas bamboo grown in plantations outside forests can be. This defeats the aim of empowering forest dwellers. The folly of this becomes clear when we look at events in Dediapada taluka, Gujarat. Forest officials have been reluctant to recognise tribal rights fully. But in 2009, the bamboo forest in Dediapada flowered and died en masse. The dry fallen bamboo constituted a major fire hazard. So, the local divsional forest officer authorised local tribals to collect, transport and sell the dead bamboo.  " - Swaminathan Aiyar in The Times Of IndiaWorld Cup Reading List

For every event/occasion/circumstance, there must always be a book. At least that’s what columnist Mini Kapoor believes, and we whole-heartedly agree.

Now, this World Cup may not have as many “minnows” as the previous edition which is why we have missed out on many David versus Goliath-esque stories, but Kapoor in her column for The Hindu has got you one book for each of the ten teams that did make it to this “world-level” competition. If you’re looking to catch up on some reading before the India-England match today, then this list might be a good place to start.

"In the years since the 2011 and 2015 tournaments for instance, when Ireland captured everyone’s imagination with improbable wins against England and the West Indies, respectively, the team did acquire Test status. But TV advertising revenue follows the big teams, especially India — and the ICC for this year chose to ensure that the big teams would rule the broadcasts every single match, and it’s only Afghanistan that’s got the chance to valiantly show us why cricket needs to find ways to expand its footprint and make a case for itself to new fans worldwide. If this sounds like a lament for cricket’s lost opportunity to bring the “minnows” to its greatest stage, as football does so much better in its World Cups, it is actually a bit more than that. For someone who routinely makes reading lists based on the nationalities of teams in contention in a given tournament, this year my register is shorter.  " - Mini Kapoor in The Hindu