Above the fold: Top stories of the day
1. Visiting the Pathankot air force base, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reportedly disturbed by the lax security apparatus.
2. The Indian Express's story about troop movements in 2012 was "unfortunate but true", says former Union minister Manish Tewari.
3. Budget 2016-'17 to focus on rural economy, infrastructure and banks.
4. As the Syrian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Walid al Moualem visits Delhi, India deliberates on whether it should join the international coalition against the Islamic State.
The Big Story: Governor's rule in Kashmir
As governor's rule descended on Jammu and Kashmir after the death of Chief Minsiter Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Central leaders from both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party made an appearance in Srinagar. Congress president Sonia Gandhi met People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti to offer her condolences. So did Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who said that the BJP would "try to fulfil the dreams" of her father. State leaders from the BJP also hoped the two parties would "proceed from where they left" and continue with the PDP-BJP alliance in J&K. The PDP has remained silent on government formation so far.
Suddenly, the state seems to be back in the limbo that it was caught in after the 2014 elections. Back then, the verdict had thrown up some tough choices for the parties involved. While no party had a clear majority, the PDP and the BJP had 28 and 25 seats, respectively, in an assembly that accommodates 87 members. The PDP's old ally, the Congress, had won just 12 seats, hardly enough to cobble together a stable coalition. It took the PDP more than a month to decide that it would form a government with the BJP. The alliance between "soft separatist" PDP and "Hindu nationalist" BJP was a coalition of extremes. The parties differed on fundamental points in their agenda, from Article 370 to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. But both showed remarkable political agility in forming a government that accommodated the mandate of Jammu, which had voted overwhelmingly for the BJP, and of Kashmir, which went with the PDP. It was a moment of great possibility for Indian politics, which seemed to have the power to reconcile extremes.
One fractious year later, it is clear that the faultlines have not disappeared. Both parties played to their constituencies and both were accused of having betrayed their mandate. But this moment of mourning has brought something that most coalitions do not have: the chance of a fresh start.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day's big story
Fahad Shah points out that before Mehbooba Mufti becomes chief minister, she will have to face resistance from the BJP as well as from within her own party.
Manoj Joshi tracks the political journey of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Politicking and policying
1. Terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad is reportedly growing stronger again, backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.
2. A Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh body that is meant to reach out to Muslims wants madrasas to fly the tricolour and sing the national anthem on Republic Day.
3. The road transport ministry is to notify standard operating procedures for "good Samaritans" or bystanders in order to save them from harassment or legal hassles for helping out accident victims.
Punditry
1. In the Hindu, Gopalkrishna Gandhi on how Sri Lanka's new Constitution must strengthen a federal spirit within a unitary system.
2. In the Indian Express, Paul Stanilard on how Pathankot-style attacks are less likely to destabilise the India-Pakistan equation today.
3. In the Telegraph, Krishnan Srinivasan on India's role in the Asia-Pacific.
Don't Miss...
Nayantara Narayanan on what's kept this winter so warm:
"Another reason why the 2015 El Nino, which has already earned monikers like Godzilla El Nino and Darth Nino, has not been behaving quite like previous El Ninos is because of 'the Blob'.
The Blob is a large, persistent dynamic mass of warm water that has been lurking in the north Pacific Ocean just south of Alaska for most of 2015 and though to be the result of a long-term cycle in the Pacific Ocean switching from heating to a cooling phase.
Interactions between the Godzilla El Nino and the Blob seem to be making weather around the world aggressive and unpredictable even for an El Nino year."
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