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The Hindu Editorials snapshot

Editorial 1

Cruising Ahead: On the India Maritime Week Event

The India Maritime Week, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighted the strategic and economic importance of India’s shipping sector. For nearly two decades, liberalisation and privatisation weakened government involvement in shipping, viewing it more as a business than as a strategic industry. While ports expanded, policy attention to ship ownership and fleet development sharply dropped. The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), once a global maritime leader, declined after losing government protection such as priority rights to transport India’s oil. During the COVID‑19 crisis, the government realised that dependence on foreign‑owned ships left India vulnerable in trade and logistics. Since then, the sector has regained attention for its security and economic value, prompting moves to strengthen SCI’s fleet and attract foreign shipping companies to register ships locally.

Editorial 2

Depressing Pattern: On the Srikakulam Stampede

The tragic crowd crush in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, occurred at a private, unregistered temple where authorities expected heavy footfall but failed to manage it properly. Reports highlight a lack of basic safety measures — a single shared gate for entry and exit, incomplete construction zones open to the public, poor crowd control, and inadequate number of stewards. This mirrors past disasters such as the 2024 Hathras and 2011 Sabarimala stampedes, where overcrowding, poor planning, and inadequate infrastructure caused chaos and loss of life.

India already has safety guidelines in place, such as the 2014 National Disaster Management Authority guidelines and the National Building Code, which prescribe measures like licensed safety plans, controlled entry‑exit flows, real‑time density monitoring, and effective communication systems. These have been successfully implemented in places like Tirumala and Sabarimala using control systems and analytics. Yet, recurring stampedes occur because of a gap between the country’s safety standards and actual enforcement on the ground.

The Indian Express Editorials snapshot

Editorial 3

Kasibugga Stampede Was the Result of Criminal Apathy. Victims Deserve Accountability

The Kasibugga stampede in Andhra Pradesh’s Venkateswara Temple, which killed nine people — mainly women and children — reflects once again India’s failure to manage large crowds safely. When railings collapsed and exits jammed, a devotional gathering quickly became a deadly crush. This tragedy follows a long list of similar disasters in temples, railway stations, and public events this year, including those at Tirupati, New Delhi station, and Tamil Nadu’s Karur during a TVK rally. Despite repeated inquiries and promises of reform, crowd safety is still ignored. In Kasibugga, around 25,000 people gathered, far exceeding capacity, in an area under construction with a single entry‑and‑exit route and inadequate arrangements. Authorities later claimed they were unaware of the special Ekadashi celebrations — a sign of how poorly communication and responsibility are handled at such mass events.

Editorial 4

Import Duty on Yellow Peas Won’t Address Root of Procurement Problem

The Union Government has imposed a 30 per cent import duty on yellow peas from November 2025, ending duty‑free imports that had been in place since December 2023. The change coincides with the harvesting of key kharif pulses such as moong (green gram), urad (black gram), and the upcoming arhar (pigeon pea) crop. While the decision aims to support domestic pulse prices, most varieties are still selling well below the Minimum Support Price (MSP), reducing farmers’ incentives to plant these crops. Good monsoon rains have further encouraged farmers to shift cultivation from pulse crops to wheat.
High inflation in pulses during 2023‑24, triggered by poor harvests from El Niño conditions, led the government to remove import duties temporarily, causing record imports of 7.3 million tonnes in 2024‑25 worth $5.5 billion. The price rise later reversed, and retail pulse inflation turned negative for eight months in 2025, hurting farmers. To stabilise incomes, the government has gradually introduced import tariffs on masoor, chana and now yellow peas, alongside a Rs 15,096‑crore MSP procurement programme for urad, moong, arhar and soyabean.

Top Vocabulary Picks from Today’s Editorials

Word	Simple Meaning	Synonym	Antonym
Strategic	Relating to long‑term plans or national interests	Planned	Random
Framework	A system of rules or ideas shaping actions	Structure	Disorder
Leverage	The ability to influence or control	Advantage	Weakness
Protectionism	Policy of protecting domestic industries through trade barriers	Economic shielding	Free trade
Heft	Importance, weight, or influence	Strength	Weakness