What to Read in Indian Express Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1 : A mirror and measuring stick

Context

Calls for a caste census compel us to confront the inequalities embedded in our society. Some of these facts might not be very obvious

Data is the new oil

• In contemporary times, one cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that data is the new oil.
• Just as no enterprise can thrive without accurate data, in the digital age, no nation can deliver social justice without proper information.
• As India moves toward becoming a data-driven economy, projected to reach a $1 trillion digital economy by 2030

The Telangana model

• Telangana has translated the vision to practice, with precision and dexterity, by conducting a comprehensive caste survey, tabling its findings in the state assembly and securing 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) across the educational, employment and political space.
• The Telangana exercise was unique and comprehensive. It conducted an X-ray of the state’s society by collecting data that illuminates the social, educational, political, economic and employment-related aspects of caste.
• The caste census was unlike the survey conducted in 1931 by the colonial state or any other caste-related data collection exercise undertaken in the country.
• The Centre should adopt this blueprintand involve Congress and other political parties in the actual design and execution, as equal participants and stakeholders.
• Conducting the caste census is a moral, constitutional and political imperativebecause it is essential to combat the hydra-headed monster of social inequality.
• Caste prejudice is widespread in both metropolitan high-rises and rural hamlets.
• A caste census is not an act of charity; it is a scalpel for justice which replaces vague promises with data-driven policies.

A scalpel of justice and equity

• The caste census will enable equitable allocation of public resources, the lifeblood of any welfare state.
• The census will surely prove to be a foundation for the equitable allocation of grants and development funding. It could lead to more precisely targeted welfare programmes.
• The caste census will also provide a mechanism to evaluate the efficacy of affirmative action.
• Social justice in India has long depended on constitutional guarantees. However, without complex data, we are shooting arrows in the dark.
• Data collected during this exercise will provide both a mirror and a measuring stick— it will enable course correction.
• Caste is not a ghost of the past but a living force which shapes our politics, economics and social interactions.
• It is essential to map this reality to create a country where people feel represented, not just governed — a country that includes, not excludes.
• The fear that the caste census will deepen divisions is unfounded. Instead, the exercise could lay the ground for healing society by recognising marginalised groups and providing them justice.
• This is not vote-bank politics; it is a nation-building exercise in its noblest form.

Lessons to learn

• We must conduct decentralised surveys at the district and state levels, ensuring that data is credible, verifiable and reflects regional reality.
• We must also institute rigorous mechanisms to obviate political abuse. The exercise is meant to enhance inclusiveness rather than deepen differences — it must not reduce representation to a chaotic splintering of micro-identities.
• Article 15(5), upheld by the apex court in 2014, should be applied to create quotas for SCs, STs and OBCs in private educational institutions.
• The Justice Rohini Commission’s recommendationsshould be immediately implemented to guarantee fair representation within OBC subgroups, especially historically underrepresented communities.
• We must use advanced technologies like AI and MLto analyse data, identify trends and make proper assessments.
• The government needs to invest in intensive training for enumerators, the mission’s frontline soldiers. A well-trained enumerator can distinguish between clarity and confusion, trust and mistrust.

Conclusion

Every believer in the constitutional dream of justice must urge the current regime to seize this moment to shape the country according to its founding ideals.

 

Editorial 2 : Why Northeast-Kolkata link via Myanmar — not Bangladesh — is significant

Context

Amid a downturn in India’s relationship with Bangladesh, the long-delayed Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP) linking Mizoram to Kolkata via Myanmar has grown in importance.

The Kaladan Project

• After feasibility studies were conducted in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the KMMTTP framework was signed by India and Myanmar in 2008.
• This was set to be a major development in India’s strategically vital Look East Policy.
• The idea behind the project was straightforward. To create a transit corridor from the port of Sittwe in the Rakhine State in Myanmar to Mizoram,and eventually the rest of Northeast India.
• This would allow goods to be shipped from India’s eastern ports — primarily Kolkata — to Sittwe and then taken to Mizoram and beyond.
• Upon completion, the KMMTTP would effectively shave off 1,000 km in distance between Kolkata and Mizoram, and save a journey time of three-to-four days.

A multimodal project

• As the term “multi-modal” suggests, the project combines several modes of transport.
• Kolkata to Sittwe:This 539 km stretch between the two seaports will be covered by ship via the Bay of Bengal. This part of the project has been completed.
• Sittwe to Paletwa:This 158 km stretch on the Kaladan river in Myanmar will be covered by boat. The river is navigable and all work has been completed on this part of the project.
• Paletwa to Zorinpui:This 108 km four-lane road will be the last leg of the corridor in Myanmar. Myanmar has granted all approvals for this part of the project, and the Integrated Customs & Immigration Checkpost at Zochawchhuah-Zorinpui has been operational since 2017
• Zorinpui to Aizwal & beyond:While Zorinpui is connected to Aizwal and the rest of the Northeast by road, the NHIDCL plans to eventually extend the high-speed corridor from Shillong all the way to the border town.

Behind long delay

• Although work on the KMMTTP began a decade and a half ago, the political situation in the Rakhine State has precluded the corridor from becoming operational. The project was set to be completed in 2016.
• Myanmar is among the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, while the Bamar/Burman make up more than 65% of the population, there are well over 100 ethnic minorities spread across the country.
• Since 1948, when it received independence from British rule, Myanmar’s many ethnic minorities have been in armed conflict with the Bamar-dominated state.
• This conflict once again picked up after a military coup in 2021 ousted the nominally civilian government that had been in place in Yangon for a decade.
• A  study published in December 2024 estimated that the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military) controls only 21% of territory,with the rest divided among a dozen or so warring ethnic militias.
• Much of the Rakhine State through which the KMMTTP passes is currently under control of the Arakan Army, now rebranded with the more-inclusive moniker Rakhine Army.

Way forward

• To get the corridor operational, New Delhi will thus have to deal with an ethnic militia which Yangon has officially designated as a terrorist outfit.
• Possible way will be engaging in quiet diplomacy with both the Myanmar government and regional stakeholders,leveraging backchannel negotiations to ensure security along the corridor.
• Simultaneously, India may consider working with ASEAN partners and multilateral forumsto facilitate humanitarian dialogue and regional stability, without directly legitimizing militant groups.