Best of BS Opinion: Mosques in the rear-view mirror, Covid-19 crisis & more

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

The Varanasi court order permitting an Archaeological Survey of India study of the Gyanvapi mosque side to determine if it had been superimposed after demolishing the Kashi Vishwanath Temple looks like a sequel to the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid story, which was supposed to bring closure to the masjid-mandir controversies in the country. This time, though, the controversy has been launched judicially. Spending too much time looking at the past is a recipe for disaster, Shekhar Gupta points out. Read it here
 

Here is a round-up of other views on the opinion page this weekend:
 

More than a year after WHO raised the pandemic alarm, we have a body of evidence of how countries dealt with the threat. India remains at the bottom of the pile in terms of economic loss, writes Devangshu Datta. Read it here
 

From the diminishing farmers’ protests to the crackdown by Myanmar’s military junta, popular protests around the world appear to have fizzled out and state power asserted itself, says T N Ninan. Read it here
 

Kisan Baburao Hazare’s demonstration became a “movement” called India Against Corruption – which turned out to be an epic fraud on the people of India, argues Mihir Sharma. Read it here
 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Why are you (PM) having ‘Pariksha pe charcha’ in West Bengal where Assembly elections are being held? Is it not a violation of the model code of conduct?

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Narendra Modi