Today’s articles circle a common question: how power is exercised, protected, and sometimes abused. From global tax negotiations to Manipur’s fragile politics, from celebrity boardrooms to documentary film sets, the focus is on responsibility, who has it, who avoids it and who pays the price. Writing about global taxes, Joseph E Stiglitz and Jayati Ghosh argue that efforts to weaken multilateral fiscal cooperation reflect a deeper drive by the ultra-rich to erode democratic controls. They describe the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework’s exemption of US multinationals from the 15 percent global minimum tax as a capitulation to US pressure, reinvigorating tax haven dynamics and weakening national sovereignty. The authors point to progressive reforms in Brazil, Colombia and Spain, along with public support in France and California, as evidence that wealth taxes are politically feasible and economically compatible with growth. Aditi Phadnis investigates the difficult legacy that Prime Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh will face in Manipur. His appointment in New Delhi, just before the end of the president’s rule, was aimed at balancing ethnic representation, including Kuki-Zo and Naga deputies. Yet the violence continues. Meitei’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status, which sparked mass unrest in 2023, remains uncertain. Cross-border instability in Myanmar and the long shadow of the Naga negotiations complicate recovery. Restoring order, curbing weapons and restoring institutional trust will test the new government far beyond mere symbolic gestures. Sandeep Goyal turns around to celebrity entrepreneurship, asking whether fame is converted into sustainable entrepreneurship. While Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan have built diversified portfolios, the likes of Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan have launched promising ventures. Goyal notes that many celebrity-backed brands fade away once the initial publicity wears off. Inflated revenue claims and weak operational depth often surface later. The column concludes that capital, discipline and execution – not visibility – determine the company’s survival. Shekhar Gupta frames geopolitics as a struggle shaped by influence and time. Lesotho’s vulnerability to sudden US tariff shifts stands in stark contrast to China’s strategic patience and scale. Europe’s dependence on American security and Washington’s electoral volatility reduce their room for maneuver. Democracies operate within political time limits; authoritarian systems often do not do that. For India, sustainable growth, trade openness and defense reforms remain the only reliable sources of future leverage. Finally, in Eye Culture, Ranjita Ganesan goes to investigate documentaries in which re-enactment and performance are openly integrated. Movies like Hanging by a thread And Everyone to Kenmure Street use staged elements to deepen the emotional truth without obscuring the construction. Together, these works accept that documentaries are shaped artifacts. By foregrounding their own construction instead of hiding it, they argue for transparency as a guarantee of the truth at a time when digital manipulation makes authenticity more difficult to assess. Stay informed!
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