Social Harmony must Quickly be Brought to the Centre of Politics

Even as India emerges from the pandemic, we are hurtling into a maelstrom of unrest. To arrest this plunge into lawlessness, violence and unmanageable disorder, it is important for everyone (yes, everyone) to prioritize tolerance, moderation, and above all, social harmony. The call for social harmony is not a liberal progressive platitude aimed at masking real divisions and grievances. I believe social harmony is a good thing in itself, but you don’t have to agree with me on this. Beyond principle, the case for social harmony today is dictated by hard-nosed realism and an interest in our prosperity and well-being.

Supreme Court can’t care for Shaheen Bagh children more than the parents

Unless in the most exceptional cases, children’s involvement in politics is supported, encouraged, managed, or instigated by the adults in their family. There is a long history of children waving flags, dressing up as political leaders, holding ideological banners, or singing songs in support of political causes. Our reaction to these images depends on our politics: we tend to approve of these actions when we support the cause and are horrified when we don’t. We are not horrified if little children celebrate violence or martyrdom, provided they are doing it for the ‘right’ cause. Most of the time, therefore, adults’ opinion on children in politics is unconsciously self-serving.Read more