Here are the top five stories of the day on the Outlook website:
- The Golden Arches Theory of Decline: In his piece, George Monbiot argues how the spread of capitalism around the world may lead to a decline in democracy, taking McDonald’s as the figure-head of this phenomenon.
- The Lost Art Of The Political Interview: We have seen recent interviews, namely of Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi, which did not generate ‘expected’ headlines. We try and understand why this is happening and why the Simi Garewal interview with Jayalalithaa was the one we shared when she passed.
- Army Senior Cadets Dish Out Barbaric Punishment To Juniors: A video on Whatsapp, one that the Army has acted upon (or so it claims) shows senior army cadets seriously roughing up their juniors in what appears to be some kind of toughening-up ‘exercise’.
- Demonetisation Is A Scam; Legalise Old Notes After Dec 30,' Says Yechury: The CPI leader has joined in the chorus after the Congress (Rahul Gandhi, P. Chidambaram) called demonetization a scam.
- Imagining White Gods: Colourism In Hindu Calendar Art And Amar Chitra Kathas: It’s generally agreed that British colonialism did not introduce notions of colourism into South Asia, it rather significantly strengthened pre-existing attitudes. Where did these attitudes come from?