Fait Accompli; BBC Cow-hug; Smelling SAARC
Opinion Watch
Fait Accompli
The Supreme Court has rejected challenge to the constitution of the Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission. The Union Territory will have an Assembly of 90 seats, with addition of six constituencies in Jammu and one in Kashmir, whenever the legislative House is restored. The challenge to the legal validity to the withdrawal of the core provisions of Article 370 is still pending before the Supreme Court.
The Hindu in an Editorial has said that the people of J&K are presented with fait accompli until the core issue of establishing the legality of trashing the special status is dealt with. The Chennai-based daily has sought spotlight on J&K, underlining —- concerns of the local political parties to tilt scale to Jammu, apex court ruling that 2011 and not 2001 Census (applicable across the country) would be the basis for delimitation and holding election.
Jammu and Kashmir along with Ladakh are being administered by unelected administrators. This runs against Indian democracy. The Supreme Court by not dealing with pending challenge to the legality of the 2019 J&K Reorganisation Act is also not helping the people move ahead.
BBC Cow-hug
The move of the Central government to celebrate the Valentine day as Cow-hug Day was withdrawn after the Bharatiya Janata Party MP GVL Narsimha Rao received a powerful kick from a cow. The buffoonery was spotted and the advisory was withdrawn. But the Income Tax Department took it seriously, and gave a cow-hug to the BBC.
The Asian Age has said it’s just bad optics. The daily gave the context to the IT raids on BBC offices in India by giving the context of the broadcaster airing documentaries on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the post-Godhra riots of 2002 in Gujarat. The daily has also stated that the government must face the “criticism of subjecting the media at home, too, to the same high-handedness”. The daily stressed that India will face hard time defending attempts at muzzling press freedom.
Raids on the BBC are brazen attempts of the government to instill fear in the press. But the Indian media is already on the death bed. The business family-owned Indian media houses abandoned journalism long ago. There may not be sympathy for media thugs who seek favour from ruling dispensations at the Centre and states. Indian media certainly needs people-owned medium.
Smelling SAARC
Leading Pakistani commentators have been stressing that India is more an Asia than South Asia. But the mainstream Indian media still reminisces old days when the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperations (SAARC) meetings were held and lofty speeches were made in the 1980s and later. India now rides on ‘Neighbourhood First’ and BIMSTEC for immediate neighbours, and South Asia never even mistakenly is spoken by the leadership.
The Pioneer, however, believes that SAARC should be revived with an Indian initiative to counter growing Chinese imprints in South Asia. The daily has made references to Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) push in South Asia. The Noida-based daily has warned that SAARC is needed to stop South Asia becoming the playground of China.
Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan jumped to the BRI juggernaut of China. They all are now jilted. Their economy are in tatters. China itself is facing global wrath. Risk of de-globalisation for China is real. The Indian interests are better served seeking a larger stage on world than pining for failed SAARC.
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