Above the fold: Top stories of the day
1. Aamir Khan confirms he's not quitting India.
2. Members of Jaish-e-Mohammad allegedly launched an attack on an army camp in Kashmir's Kupwara district. Three militants and one civilian were killed in the ensuing gunfight.
3. The government may link its decision on an India-Pakistan cricket match to Islamabad's continuing support for terror.
The Big Story: Bringing down the House
As parties across the spectrum pad up for the winter session, the government looks conciliatory. It seems willing to reach out to the Opposition, to discuss intolerance before it discusses economic reform. Shaken by the Bihar elections and reeling from a public backlash, the Bharatiya Janata Party seems to be gathering its forces for a fresh onslaught in the new session of Parliament. Will it really face a more coherent, better organised Opposition than it did during the monsoon session?
Last session, a rag tag, fragmented Opposition was able to stall Parliament by raising the issue of the Vyapam cash-for-jobs scam, in which members of the ruling party were indicted. In the months since then, political opposition to the BJP and its Hindutva allies has found a new centre of gravity. It is no longer the odd scam and finger pointing. Hate speech, beef bans and Dadri prompted many who opposed this brand of majoritarian politics, increasingly identified with the BJP, to stand up to be counted. Political parties of the Opposition happily joined the bandwagon. The Bihar elections, moreover, saw the forging of a new coalition. The Janata Dal (United) joined hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress to defeat the BJP, triggering speculation that this newfound unity could be replicated at the national level. Now the Trinamool Congress has joined the clamour against intolerance, signalling its solidarity with the vanguard.
It is too early to tell whether this new common cause will lead to a lasting alliance; third front style coalitions have traditionally been volatile. But as the Opposition finds a new political voice, it must use it responsibly. Protest must be registered and intolerance opposed. But it should not become another opportunity to stall the business of Parliament. That would only undermine the very serious issues at stake.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day's biggest story
How Rahul Gandhi's failed attempt to convince students that Swachh Bharat had failed left him red faced.
Apoorvanand points out that while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee preaches intolerance to the Centre, West Bengal descends into a maelstrom of political violence.
Politicking and policying
1. The presence of Illegal fishing boats off Mumbai's coast raise fears about a potential terror threat.
2. Supreme Court leaves it to government to decide whether Muslim personnel in police and defence services can sport flowing beards.
3. West Bengal tops the charts for cases of domestic violence for the seventh consecutive year.
Punditry
1. In the Hindu, Baradwaj Rangan argues that Aamir Khan's right to voice an opinion is a matter of freedom of speech.
2. In the Indian Express, V. Balachandran speaks of the need for an effective global opposition to terror after 13/11.
3. Rahul Jacob in the Business Standard tell it like it is: most people in India are yet to enter the middle class.
Don't miss...
Girish Shahane on how India's admirable tradition of religious tolerance has never extended to the recognition of individual rights:
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1. Aamir Khan confirms he's not quitting India.
2. Members of Jaish-e-Mohammad allegedly launched an attack on an army camp in Kashmir's Kupwara district. Three militants and one civilian were killed in the ensuing gunfight.
3. The government may link its decision on an India-Pakistan cricket match to Islamabad's continuing support for terror.
The Big Story: Bringing down the House
As parties across the spectrum pad up for the winter session, the government looks conciliatory. It seems willing to reach out to the Opposition, to discuss intolerance before it discusses economic reform. Shaken by the Bihar elections and reeling from a public backlash, the Bharatiya Janata Party seems to be gathering its forces for a fresh onslaught in the new session of Parliament. Will it really face a more coherent, better organised Opposition than it did during the monsoon session?
Last session, a rag tag, fragmented Opposition was able to stall Parliament by raising the issue of the Vyapam cash-for-jobs scam, in which members of the ruling party were indicted. In the months since then, political opposition to the BJP and its Hindutva allies has found a new centre of gravity. It is no longer the odd scam and finger pointing. Hate speech, beef bans and Dadri prompted many who opposed this brand of majoritarian politics, increasingly identified with the BJP, to stand up to be counted. Political parties of the Opposition happily joined the bandwagon. The Bihar elections, moreover, saw the forging of a new coalition. The Janata Dal (United) joined hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress to defeat the BJP, triggering speculation that this newfound unity could be replicated at the national level. Now the Trinamool Congress has joined the clamour against intolerance, signalling its solidarity with the vanguard.
It is too early to tell whether this new common cause will lead to a lasting alliance; third front style coalitions have traditionally been volatile. But as the Opposition finds a new political voice, it must use it responsibly. Protest must be registered and intolerance opposed. But it should not become another opportunity to stall the business of Parliament. That would only undermine the very serious issues at stake.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day's biggest story
How Rahul Gandhi's failed attempt to convince students that Swachh Bharat had failed left him red faced.
Apoorvanand points out that while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee preaches intolerance to the Centre, West Bengal descends into a maelstrom of political violence.
Politicking and policying
1. The presence of Illegal fishing boats off Mumbai's coast raise fears about a potential terror threat.
2. Supreme Court leaves it to government to decide whether Muslim personnel in police and defence services can sport flowing beards.
3. West Bengal tops the charts for cases of domestic violence for the seventh consecutive year.
Punditry
1. In the Hindu, Baradwaj Rangan argues that Aamir Khan's right to voice an opinion is a matter of freedom of speech.
2. In the Indian Express, V. Balachandran speaks of the need for an effective global opposition to terror after 13/11.
3. Rahul Jacob in the Business Standard tell it like it is: most people in India are yet to enter the middle class.
Don't miss...
Girish Shahane on how India's admirable tradition of religious tolerance has never extended to the recognition of individual rights:
"While India’s tolerance was deeper, though, it was not as wide as England’s, for it was based on a respect for religious rights and customary rights but did not extend to any modern conception of individual rights as a whole. To illustrate what I mean, think of the incident a few months ago where the Shiv Sena MP Rajan Vichare, dissatisfied with the food served in Delhi’s Maharashtra Sadan, acted in the manner typical of a Shiv Sainik, stuffing a chapatti in the mouth of a catering supervisor. The man happened to be Muslim, and happened to be fasting for Ramzan. The offence, captured on a cell phone video, was momentary, and appeared so even when looped in slow motion on news channels, but Vichare found few defenders even among Hindutvavadis, for he had transgressed against a religious taboo respected even by those who didn’t share it. The same regard for religious and customary rights makes Indians wary of European laws that restrict the wearing of turbans and burkhas. At the same time, far more serious violations of human rights and Indian law, such as the torture that we all know is routine in police stations across the country and often directed at innocents, do not evoke anger or elicit any protest from the population at large."