Best of BS Opinion: India's Sisyphean climb towards free speech and growth

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

Like Sisyphus pushing the boulder to the top of the hill, nations and societies are caught in cycles of progress and reversal. Each climb appears to promise permanence, yet the summit often proves elusive as momentum slips and the stone thunders down again. It is this cycle of advance, collapse, and renewal that defines not only myth but the reality of nations. The myth endures not because of futility, but because of persistence. Whether in diplomacy, law, markets, or migration, the weight never disappears and the struggle lies in pressing forward despite inevitable setbacks. Let’s dive in. 

In foreign policy, India now faces such a climb with the appointment of Sergio Gor as US ambassador and special envoy for South and Central Asia. Gor’s lack of diplomatic experience, his deep loyalty to President Donald Trump, and the expanded remit of his role raise concerns of revived “hyphenation” with Pakistan, notes our first editorial. While his proximity to Trump might seem advantageous, the President’s uncompromising stance on trade suggests otherwise. Like Sisyphus, India finds itself straining uphill to maintain strategic balance, only for the weight of geopolitics to bring it down again. 

 

That tension between principle and practice is equally visible at home. The suspension of sedition law under Section 124A in 2022 seemed to mark a decisive shift, but recent cases filed against journalists in Assam and the introduction of a reworded provision under the new criminal code reveal the stone sliding back, argues our second editorial. Political misuse of criminal defamation by multiple parties only makes the climb steeper. 

Markets, too, reflect the strain of ascent. As Akash Prakash highlights, foreign investors have pulled $13 billion from Indian equities this year, driving foreign ownership to a 15-year low. Valuations, slow growth, and missed opportunities in AI are fuelling scepticism, even as resilient domestic flows keep markets steady. Unless reforms strengthen competitiveness, the climb towards global leverage risks faltering midway, he writes. 

Yet the path to growth may lie in a different push altogether. As Rama Bijapurkar writes, India’s long-term momentum depends on unlocking the consumption power of the middle 40 per cent that constitute the households in both cities and villages. This mass market has often been neglected, while policy favours large corporations or the richest 20 per cent. Aggregating the small through digital platforms and virtual marketplaces offers a way to formalise livelihoods, cut distribution costs, and expand access to credit. Without that push, growth risks stalling halfway up the hill. 

And finally, migration, as Sanjeev Ahluwalia notes in his review of Sanjaya Baru’s Secession of the Successful: The Flight out of New India, also embodies this cycle of ascent and retreat. Waves of Indians have pushed outwards for over a century, sending remittances to the homeland. Yet as 2047 approaches, the weight may shift as opportunities within India could anchor many, even though elites continue to move abroad. 

Stay tuned!