Best of BS Opinion: Who holds power and who pays the price | Opinion Specials

Today’s writeups circle a common question: How power is exercised, protected and sometimes misused. From global tax negotiations to Manipur’s fragile politics, from celebrity boardrooms to documentary film sets, the focus is accountability, who has it, who avoids it, and who pays the price.  Writing on global taxation, Joseph E Stiglitz and Jayati Ghosh argue that attempts to dilute multilateral tax cooperation reflect a deeper push by the ultra-wealthy to erode democratic checks. They describe the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework’s exemption for American multinationals from the 15 per cent global minimum tax as a capitulation to US pressure, reviving 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 viable and economically compatible with growth.  Aditi Phadnis examines the difficult inheritance facing Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh in Manipur. His appointment in New Delhi, just before the end of President’s Rule, was designed to balance ethnic representation, with Kuki-Zo and Naga deputies included. Yet violence persists. The Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe status, which triggered mass unrest in 2023, remains unsettled. Cross-border instability in Myanmar and the long shadow of Naga negotiations complicate recovery. Restoring order, curbing weapons and rebuilding institutional trust will test the new government far beyond symbolic gestures.  Sandeep Goyal turns to celebrity entrepreneurship, questioning whether fame converts into durable enterprise. While Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan have built diversified portfolios, those like Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan have launched promising ventures, Goyal notes that many celebrity-backed brands fade once initial publicity wanes. Inflated revenue claims and weak operational depth often surface later. The column concludes that capital, discipline and execution — not visibility — determine business survival.  Shekhar Gupta frames geopolitics as a contest shaped by leverage and time. Lesotho’s vulnerability to sudden US tariff shifts contrasts with China’s strategic patience and scale. Europe’s dependence on American security and Washington’s electoral volatility compress their room for manoeuvre. Democracies operate under political time limits; authoritarian systems often do not. For India, sustained growth, trade openness and defence reform remain the only reliable sources of future leverage.  Finally, in Eye Culture, Ranjita Ganesan explores documentaries that openly incorporate re-enactment and performance. Films such as Hanging by a Wire and Everybody to Kenmure Street use staged elements to deepen emotional truth without disguising construction. Together, these works accept that documentaries are shaped artefacts. By foregrounding their own construction rather than concealing it, they argue for transparency as a safeguard of truth at a time when digital manipulation makes authenticity harder to assess.  Stay tuned!