Best of BS Opinion: A tale of elections, trade wars, and survival

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Once upon a time, in a quiet forest, a hare and a turtle set off on a race. You know how it ends—persistence beats overconfidence. But the modern world? Oh, it’s trickier. Sometimes, the race isn’t even fair, and new competitors keep popping up. This week, India finds itself sprinting, Sri Lanka is catching its breath, China is recalibrating, and traditional media’s running a parallel track against tech giants. Slow? Steady? Fast? Or just strategic? Let’s break it down. 

Take India’s big, bold election pitch. Simultaneous elections. The government has revived this old idea, dusted it off, and introduced the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill. Picture one giant election for the Lok Sabha and all state Assemblies, like India in its early years—straightforward, efficient, tidy. The promise sounds like the hare’s plan: fewer polls mean less spending, less political noise, and more time for governments to focus on actual governance. It’s neat. But turtles teach us patience. Critics argue the Bill might trip over its own speed. They warn of weakened accountability—what happens if governments cling to power, avoiding no-confidence motions just to avoid another election? There are other risks attached too. The turtle might not be glamorous, but it avoids cracks in the road. Read our first editorial today to find out more. 

Then there’s Sri Lanka. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, once wary of India, landed in New Delhi on his first overseas visit recently. The world’s watching, and so far, the turtle’s pace suits him. Known for his Marxist roots and sharp critiques of Indian influence, Dissanayake is now all pragmatism, assuring India that Sri Lanka won’t let its land harm Indian interests. But the dragon looms in the corner. China, with its 99-year lease on Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port and status as its largest creditor, is a quiet but heavy player. Our second editorial today argues that Sri Lanka’s challenge now is balance - walk slowly, choose wisely, and don’t let fast, tempting deals trip it up. 

Meanwhile, in China itself, the hare’s catching its breath. The recent Economic Work Conference revealed just how much pressure Beijing faces. Slowing domestic demand, threats of a US trade war (a Trump comeback isn’t helping), and fears of faltering growth have nudged China to rethink its approach. This time, it’s investing inward—stimulus plans, higher fiscal deficits, and a pivot towards “high-quality” tech-driven growth, highlights our columnist Shyam Saran- a career diplomat himself. If China is the hare, running fast with its massive resources, India needs to act like the smart turtle - steady, strategic, and careful not to stumble. In races like this, a single misstep can cost decades. 

And what about the race for your attention? Traditional media, once the unquestioned hare of storytelling, now finds itself competing against the swift, flashy world of Google, Meta, and social media influencers. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube are winning the race for eyeballs, with brands flowing in to back influencers who know exactly how to hook a distracted, scrolling thumb. But media houses like Zee aren’t done yet. It’s like the hare learning to pace itself, or the turtle picking up speed. The outcome of this race? Still too close to call, says Vanita Kohli Khandekar. 

And then there’s the quiet race no one sees: survival. In today’s book review, Saurabh Sharma explores Chitvan Gill’s Dreaming a Paradise: Migrations and the Story of Buland Masjid which brings us the story of Buland Masjid, an “unauthorised” colony in Delhi. The book is a portrait of migration and resilience, of people like Krishna Devi and Naseeba, women who push through prejudice and poverty to rebuild their world—brick by brick, day by day. The struggles are enormous, but Gill’s book reminds us that slow steps matter. The turtle doesn’t win because it’s fast. It wins because it doesn’t stop.

 

Stay tuned and until next time - keep moving at your own pace!