opinion

If Gaza does enter a postwar phase, success will not be measured solely by the number of weapons surrendered or buildings rebuilt. It will be judged by whether justice was pursued. Without accountability and reconciliation advancing together, a durable peace is likely to remain out of reach.

The Bankipur election result is a serious lesson for both the BJP as well as the opposition, the Congress in particular—that people are prepared to experiment and give a chance to “alternatives” if they seem better than the BJP. So far, the Congress has been the only credible alternative to the BJP nationally. Alternatives seem to have started emerging, for both the BJP as well as the Congress.

The Congress high command is believed to be exploring the options of expulsion of some prominent leaders to enforce discipline.

For Bihar’s electorate, Bankipur offers something new: choice. The emergence of a credible third force suggests that politics in the state may no longer be confined to a binary contest. Whether this evolves into a lasting transformation remains to be seen—but the first crack in the old order has undeniably appeared.

Al-Qaida is more deliberate and thinks in decades. The Islamic State moves quickly and seeks immediate effect.

If the BJP manages to get somewhere between 25 to 30 seats, there will in all likelihood be a hung house with no party having clear majority on its own. It will depend at that time as what permutations and combinations emerge. The BJP will obviously remain open to post-poll alliance with the Akalis and possibly with the radical Waris Punjab De as well.

A diverse cabinet can still pursue policies that many minority communities oppose. Inclusion at the top no longer guarantees substantive representation below. That is the defining political challenge of Britain’s “post-first” era. The politics of representation have moved beyond celebrating symbolic milestones. The politics of the “first” have given way to the politics of governing. The central question is no longer who gets into the room, but what they do once they are there.

The way the rebel leaders are trying to upset the party’s applecart, it looks like they are keen to snatch defeat from the jaws of a probable victory.

This opposition from Israel is where the agreement could likely break down, unless Trump can put suitable pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow the peace process to continue. This pressure was already starting to mount on Friday, with a US official saying Trump would be “very disappointed” if Israel stood in the way.

Yes, Modi did retreat. That was apparently because of concerns that the agitation could intensify, especially after opposition parties began openly backing the students and extending support to them. For the opposition, it was a cathartic moment. What it had failed to achieve over the last 12 years, a disparate group of young people, without any clear ideology or purpose, managed to achieve. Yet that remains little more than a consolation. In a way, it was also the opposition’s loss, as it ceded political space to the CJP.

Gandhi needs to be asked that should the violent protesters, most of whom were not even students, been allowed to have a free run? Should they have been allowed to stone the cops and damage the public property like police vehicles and buildings. And should they be allowed to hold the national capital to ransom?

The coming legal fight, should it arise, will not be over whether the government can exert the level of control it already has. The fight will be about how governments can wield this control responsibly. The best case at this point is that this fight takes place in the open, with public input, through lawful legislative processes.