Best of BS Opinion: Strategies and silent revolutions in a world on edge

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

Some days feel like walking into an armoury. The milk boils to the brim like a detonator, news alerts ricochet across the room, and the coffee tastes just bitter enough to sharpen your senses. The world outside hums with tension — quiet but angry, like a gun before the trigger is pulled. Lately, it feels like everything is made of parts of a war machine. Policies click into place like rifle bolts. Treaties get dismantled like landmines being dug out of old battlefields. Words — even the soft ones — explode with impact. Let’s dive in. 

This week, the trigger was pulled in Pahalgam. The brutal killing of 26 tourists was followed by a thunderous message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His speech — delivered in English — was as much for the world as for the nation. India's response went beyond condemnation, notes our first editorial. Water was weaponised. Diplomatic cables snapped. The Indus Waters Treaty was suspended. Pakistan cried foul, calling it an act of war. But New Delhi showed it's not just loading up — it’s recalibrating the entire gun. 

Meanwhile, a quieter battlefield emerged in the panchayats. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj launched a new index to measure their strength, and the findings weren’t pretty. Not one among 216,000 qualified as an “Achiever.” The shells are there — revenue tools, digital infra, administrative will — but the powder’s damp. The machine misfires when departments don’t coordinate, and when money, though allocated, never quite reaches the chamber. Still, the idea of local governments powering India's future is far from spent, argues our second editorial. 

In economic policy, R Kavita Rao and Sunil Ashra piece together a blueprint that could become India’s next heavy artillery. As trade wars rage and tariffs fly like shrapnel, they argue India must assemble its own gear: worker housing, minority stakes in startups, trade deals with precision scope. The window is small, they warn — others are arming too. 

Meanwhile, V S Krishnan points to the chronic misfire: a stubborn 6 per cent growth trap. His remedy? Focus on labour-heavy industries, strip off pointless tariffs, clean the tax barrel, and double down on strategic FDI — like Maruti Suzuki once did for autos. Four clear targets. One cleaner shot. 

But not all machines are metallic. Akankshya Abismruta reviews The Feminisms of Our Mothers edited by Daanika Kamal— an anthology that disassembles patriarchy piece by piece. These essays are less about revolutions and more about resistance that mutters, cries, and quietly reloads — a different kind of warfare, waged in kitchens, classrooms, and streets. 

Stay tuned, and remember, knowing where the safety is and when not to pull is the real art of survival!