# Pavan K Varma: Dharma and the Indian art of excuse 2026-10-11T01:34:28+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Pavan K Varma, writing for both Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age on 11 October, argues that the Hindu concept of dharma, while intellectually rich, is being cynically used by the powerful to evade accountability. He traces dharma from its root meaning of duty and righteousness through its nuanced role in the purusharthas and epics like the Mahabharata, where moral ambiguity is central. Varma warns that the same contextual flexibility that makes dharma courageous also allows wrongdoing to be justified through expedient factors such as 'appadharma' (emergency action) or 'svadharma' (personal conscience). He contends that in public life, high office provides an endless supply of 'compulsions', constitutional, political, administrative, that can turn explanation into exoneration. The article questions whether India's jurisprudential culture, built on the humane principle that many guilty should escape rather than one innocent be punished, has become so labyrinthine that accountability itself is lost. Varma calls for dharma to demand something more rigorous than relativism, though the piece cuts off before offering a solution. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age carry the identical text of Pavan K Varma's op-ed, so coverage is uniform. The essay itself is a philosophical critique of how the powerful misuse dharma and legal procedure to avoid accountability. It is opinion, not news, and carries no government stance, its framing is government-critical in its clear accusation that those in high office exploit contextual arguments to escape consequences. The article offers no named example, which limits its specificity, but the argument is aimed squarely at the system of excuses it describes. No next step is stated, the piece ends mid-sentence on the demand for a more rigorous dharma. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 government-critical - deccanchronicle.com (government critical) Op-ed argues the powerful use dharma to escape accountability - asianage.com (government critical) Identical op-ed, same critique of accountability evasion This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: accountability, Asian Age, Deccan Chronicle, dharma, Pavan K Varma Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/pavan-k-varma-dharma-and-the-indian-art-of-excuse/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/pavan-k-varma-dharma-and-the-indian-art-of-excuse/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/