Best of BS Opinion: Seeking cultural roots, Missing Mr Xi and more

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

The issue of India’s cultural identity as it is being shaped by the ruling regime goes beyond name changes and identity politics. What is being advanced is a challenge to the notion that the European Enlightenment produced ideas with universal validity, such as individual freedom and equality. Under Narendra Modi’s government India has reversed the “natural” transition from traditional to secular-rational values, and is focused on survival values as different from self-expression values, writes T N Ninan.  Read it here

In other views:

Mihir Sharma says Xi Jinping’s decision to skip the G20 underlines his unwillingness to make place for an aspirational India Read it here

 

Chintan Girish Modi discusses the Indian society’s racist penchant for fair skin. Read it here

Devangshu Datta explains the EU system of voting to argue that separate elections at state and national levels are a good thing. Read it here

QUOTE OF THE DAY

 

‘On the whole, I am more optimistic about India’s future than worried’

 

Former PM Manmohan Singh