Best of BS Opinion: When leaders throw tantrums and institutions play deaf

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

There’s something unsettling about a child crying in the corner. Everyone hears it, but many look away, some pretend not to notice, and only a few come forward to understand what’s wrong. Because the child’s cries are sometimes a tantrum demanding attention, sometimes a plea no one wants to hear, and sometimes a quiet warning we shouldn’t ignore. In politics, justice, tech and leadership, that cry echoes differently, exposing decline, exclusion, and lessons in listening. Let’s dive in. 

Donald Trump’s UN speech was just that: a loud, theatrical tantrum. His stalled escalator and failed teleprompter set the stage for a rambling, fact-light address that glorified America’s past, railed against migrants, and mocked climate concerns. Once, world leaders laughed, but this time, they sat in silence. The absence of applause was like a child’s wail in the corner, not funny anymore, just tiring. Our first editorial notes that along with America’s fading authority, the UN’s paralysis is also on display. Reform is overdue if global institutions are to remain relevant. 

 

Meanwhile, in India’s courts, the cry takes another form: muted, overlooked, and heartbreaking. Chief Justice B R Gavai admitted that cost, distance, and language still keep millions away from justice. English-dominated proceedings shut out litigants, backlogs choke the system, and undertrials languish in jail, our second editorial highlights. Justice Surya Kant argued that lawyers must speak both the people’s language and the law. Here, the child’s cry is not noise but a voice smothered by barriers, a reminder that rights would mean little if pleas are unheard. 

For India’s trade negotiators, the cry is more restless than sad. As Amita Batra notes, the EU’s eastward pivot offers a rare chance to close a long-pending FTA. Flexible rules of origin, integrated investment chapters, and climate cooperation could bind India into global value chains. The EU has already inked deals with MERCOSUR and Indonesia. Further delay further would mean India risks letting opportunity whimper unattended in the corner. 

The Indian IT industry faces another tantrum of the US President, the $100,000 H-1B visa fee. As Janak Raj writes, it threatens jobs and exports, but also forces change. For too long the sector has depended on basic services and US demand. The fee shock is disruptive, but like a child’s sudden outburst, it can spur overdue adaptation with more R&D, global products, and resilience. 

And in leadership, as R Gopalakrishnan finds in Shiv Shivakumar’s The CEO Mindset, the most powerful leaders are those who notice the quietest cries. By listening, coaching, and building trust, they turn corners of neglect into spaces of growth. Leadership, at its best, is about hearing what others ignore and acting before the silence grows unbearable. 

Stay tuned!