आज के इंडियन एक्सप्रेस के दो आइटम ध्यान खींचने वाले हैं। अखबार के एक्सप्रेस अड्डा कार्यक्रम में अमर्त्य सेन ने नरेंद्र मोदी के साथ अपने मतभेदों का जिक्र करते हुए यह भी कहा कि मोदी ने इस उम्मीद को कायम किया कि बहुत कुछ हो भी सकता है। उन्होंने मोदी के शौचालय कार्यक्रम की प्रशंसा की और यह भी माना कि पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह अपने दूसरे कार्यकाल में काम करके दिखा नहीं पाए। आज के एक्सप्रेस ने गोवा के एक कार्यक्रम से सुषमा स्वराज के एक वक्तव्य को उधृत किया है, जिसमें स्वराज ने उदारता और सहिष्णुता के रास्ते को उचित बताया है। हार्डकोर हिन्दुत्व से जुड़े बयानों के बीच सुषमा स्वराज का यह बयान आश्वस्तिकारक है। आज के एक्सप्रेस में पाकिस्तानी पत्रकार हामिद मीर का लेख भी कुछ बुनियादी सवाल उठाता है। एक्सप्रेस में पाकिस्तान के पूर्व विदेशमंत्री खुरशीद महमूद कसूरी का इंटरव्यू भी पढ़ने लायक है, जिसमें उन्होंने ट्रैक टू की बातचीत को उपयोगी बताया है।
Despite differences over secularism and social cohesion, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing a sense that things were once again moving in the economy, and for highlighting the need for toilets in the country.
Sen, who was the guest at a packed Express Adda on Saturday evening, also clarified his stance on government subsidies — he said the term must be “unpacked” to distinguish between essential national services such as public education and healthcare, and subsidised cooking gas and diesel.
Sen warmed the chilly evening with a staggering range of stories: from how he took the former England captain Mike Brearley to his “quietest” New Year Eve in Kolkata, to how Sanskrit has 16 words for “justice”, each with a different nuance.
...“I am critical of Mr Modi but I have to say he has given a sense of faith to people that things can happen. It may not be in exactly the same way that I would have liked to have happened… I think it is quite an achievement. It is a compliment, but our differences on secularism and other things don’t go away,” Sen said. He added that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not able, in the second term of the UPA, to send out the signal that (positive) things could happen.
A day after RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat vowed to “bring back brothers who have lost their way”, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke about the need for greater tolerance, and how India had grown by absorbing and assimilating various cultures, and provided them with the space to grow and flourish.
“The four concepts of democracy, diversity, non-violence and tolerance should become an integral part of our toolbox for solving present-day conflicts.
They have the power to dull the sharp edges of ethnic nationalism and religious chauvinism which fuel most of the conflict of the world today,” Swaraj said at the concluding session of the three-day India Ideas Conclave organised by India Foundation, a Delhi-based think tank.
Three important decisions were taken in the Peshawar meeting. Nawaz Sharif declared that his government would cease to discriminate between “good” and “bad” Taliban, and would ensure the elimination of all terrorists. Second, he formed a committee, headed by Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, to devise a plan in one week for the elimination of terrorism. He also approved of removing the moratorium on the death penalty in cases of terrorism. Within 24 hours of these decisions, the president rejected the mercy appeals of 17 terrorists, and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif signed the death warrants of six hardcore terrorists convicted by military courts. The conference’s decisions were hailed all over Pakistan. But the question is: will Nawaz Sharif deliver? Raheel Sharif already claimed that his forces are taking action in North Waziristan against the good and bad Taliban. But will Nawaz Sharif ask his army chief to take action against those militants who don’t use the Taliban’s name and are active in Punjab and Sindh? According to credible reports, the Peshawar attackers were receiving instructions from TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah, who is hiding in Afghanistan. But they were also in touch with some people in Bahawalpur. They reached Army Public School in Peshawar using a vehicle stolen from Lahore. Will action now be taken against terrorist hideouts in Bahawalpur and Lahore? Can Peshawar be a turning point?
You cannot get anywhere by relying only on official channels. Pakistan and India have excellent diplomats who spend their entire lives on commas, fullstops, paragraphs. I remember at a conference, Indians were trying their best to get a paragraph deleted on terrorism and liberation movements, and equally persistent Pakistani officers wanted it included. I am not running down foreign service officials, they are trained for that. But there is a world beyond commas and fullstops, when you have to get to the heart of the matter. -
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