08 July 2025: Indian Express Editorial Analysis

1. Why BRICS
(Source: Editorial Page, The Indian Express)

Topic: GS Paper 2: International Relations; Regional and Global Groupings

Context

The 2025 BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro concluded with a lengthy declaration full of grand rhetoric. However, the editorial questions the practical relevance of BRICS for India in the current global scenario, highlighting internal contradictions, China’s dominance, and a lack of strategic coherence in the forum’s functioning.

India’s Historical Investment in BRICS

• BRICS was originally seen as a coalition of emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — united to reform global governance and challenge Western domination in institutions like the IMF and World Bank.
• India played a leading role in founding BRICS, viewing it as an alternative to Western-led forums and a platform to project itself as a leader of the Global South.

Contradictions and Structural Weaknesses in BRICS

• The 2025 summit declaration had over 126 paragraphs and 16,000 words but provided no actionable roadmap. It was filled with buzzwords like “inclusive,” “sustainable,” and “global governance” without any concrete commitments.
• BRICS suffers from internal contradictions — with members like China and India locked in geopolitical conflict, and others like Saudi Arabia and UAE wary of Iran’s nuclear stance.
• While BRICS talks of collective resistance to U.S. hegemony, member states routinely pursue bilateral trade agreements with the U.S. — undermining BRICS’ multilateral spirit.

Geopolitical Shifts and Trump’s Disruption

• The editorial notes how Trump’s unilateral foreign policy has reshaped global order more significantly than BRICS ever did.
• Trump dismantled post-WWII institutions like the WTO and openly dismissed multilateralism, yet BRICS only responded with ineffective rhetorical opposition.
• BRICS’ call to reform the Bretton Woods system appears hollow, especially when its members negotiate separately with the very powers they oppose collectively.

India’s Strategic Concerns with China

• For India, the real challenge is China’s assertiveness, which has direct implications on its borders, economy, and security.
• The editorial argues that India’s presence in BRICS does little to constrain China or build a credible counterbalance to its dominance.
• Two key BRICS members — Saudi Arabia and UAE — are more aligned with the West than with BRICS’ founding principles, making consensus difficult.

Declining Relevance of BRICS for India

• The Rio Declaration offers no new direction or strategic clarity.
• India’s interests — especially economic and security — now lie more with forums like QUAD, I2U2, or G20, rather than BRICS.
• Yet, political inertia in Delhi prevents strategic reassessment of BRICS, despite diminishing returns on diplomatic investment.

Practice Question: (GS-2 | 15 Marks | 250 Words) In light of recent developments, critically examine whether BRICS continues to serve India’s strategic interests.

Also Read: The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 08 July 2025

2. Now, Prove Your Identity

(Source: Editorial Page, The Indian Express)

Topic: GS Paper 2: Governance, Constitution, Polity, and Social Justice

Context

The editorial critiques the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, particularly the requirement of documentary proof for citizenship. Coming just before elections, it has triggered administrative chaos and public anxiety. It raises critical questions about bureaucratic insensitivity, erosion of trust in institutions, and disproportionate state power over ordinary citizens.

Bureaucratic Overreach in the Name of Electoral Purity

• The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) announced six months ago, with its final guidelines issued as late as January, imposes onerous documentary requirements on voters.
• Citizens now need to furnish at least one of 11 prescribed documents, most of which the economically weaker and marginalised may not possess — such as birth certificates of parents issued before 1997, or property records.
• This move has disproportionately affected women, the poor, SCs/STs, minorities, and migrant populations in Bihar — mirroring the anxieties evoked by NRC in Assam.

Flawed Assumptions and Structural Discrimination

•  The list of accepted documents privileges formal education, employment, and property ownership, disproportionately favouring elite groups.
• It indirectly punishes voters for poor state service delivery over decades.
• For example, those born before 1987 need proof of both parents’ birth and location — placing a crippling burden on citizens.

Undermining the Constitutional Right to Vote

• Article 326 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to vote to all adult citizens.
• By demanding proof and documentation arbitrarily, the EC risks violating the fundamental right of franchise.
• The editorial critiques this as a presumptive state attitude — assuming guilt or illegality until proven innocent.

Administrative Challenges and Poor Timing

• The process has been launched mere weeks before elections, giving voters insufficient time to collect and furnish documents.
• There is no clear communication or awareness campaign by the EC.
• Public anxiety has risen, especially as rejection or delays can lead to disenfranchisement, particularly in flood-affected or rural districts.

Recommendations and Way Forward

• The EC must balance electoral integrity with inclusiveness.
• Excessive documentation risks excluding the poor and marginalized.
• Voter roll revisions should be transparent, well-timed, and supported by awareness campaigns.
• To uphold public trust, the process must focus on inclusion, not suspicion.

Practice Question: (GS-2 | 10 Marks | 150 Words) In the context of recent electoral roll revisions in Bihar, discuss the constitutional and ethical dimensions of demanding documentary proof for voting eligibility. How can the Election Commission ensure procedural fairness without disenfranchising vulnerable citizens?

Read more – 07 July 2025 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis