This refers to your cover story (Class of the Future, September 27) on how “India is poised to become a global education hub with the government introducing major policy changes”. It is well known that more Indian students go to foreign countries for pursuing higher education than foreigners coming to India for the same purpose. Over the past five years, there has been no significant increase in the number of foreign students coming to our country. In fact, seats set aside for foreigners in many Indian institutions are sometimes left vacant. On the other hand, the number of Indian students going abroad for higher education keeps going up. One of the main reasons: absurdly high cut-off marks for admission in the prestigious universities of India. So high that even deserving students cannot always make it. Secondly, studying abroad is also a status symbol—many prefer to go even to those foreign institutions that are known to be inferior to the best in India. We need more colleges and universities in both the public and private sector, and the government should focus on ways to improve the quality of education across the board.
D.B. Madan, New Delhi
This refers to Off-Kilter to Upturn (September 27), your story on signs of recovery in the Covid-hit Indian economy. With the second wave of the pandemic just about abating in the country, economic pundits see the economy crawling to some semblance of normalcy. Simultaneously, they are quick to wonder if the ‘recovery’ is enough to spark a boom. Ironically, the pandemic that continues to ravage lives, livelihood and the economy also brings the country an opportunity to resurrect itself on the wings of self-reliance. The government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan at least theoretically provides a launching pad for India’s economic resurgence. If spokes in the wheel of recovery are done away with, there’s no reason why the economy cannot take off and fly with the PM’s ‘Make in India’ dream.
Jacob G., On E-Mail
This refers to your story on ties between old allies India and Russia in the backdrop of ongoing changes in Afghanistan (Caucasian Chalk Circle, September 27). With India moving closer to the US, it is hard to imagine that Russia would share its deep concerns with India over the failure to form an inclusive government in Afghanistan. Russia has adopted a wait-and-watch approach to the Afghan imbroglio. It will not be long before it joins hands with China, Pakistan, Iran and other countries in recognising the Taliban regime, which has made it abundantly clear that Afghanistan will be governed not as a democracy, but under the Sharia law. The huge public rally that Prime Minister Narendra Modi organised in Ahmedabad to felicitate then US president Donald Trump as a response to the ‘Howdy Modi’ event held in Houston, and the government’s growing interactions with the US, have raised Moscow’s eyebrows. Russia has been our proven ally and its support to India on Kashmir has never wavered. Things will likely be better for India if New Delhi improves ties with Moscow instead of tilting towards Washington. As Henry Kissinger once famously quipped, “it may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal”.
Kangayam R. Narasimhan, Chennai
This refers to Sunilkumar Karintha’s column on chronic political violence in Kerala’s Kannur district (Structures of Violence, September 20). Ghastly violence, including coldblooded murders, in the killing fields of Kannur is in a piece with the universal pattern—a bunch of thugs sold on political ideology agree to bear the cudgel, club and sword at the behest of leaders who remote-control them from their air-conditioned comfort zones! The only ones to lose are families of the victims, and nobody even remembers these ‘martyrs’ once the deed is done.
George Jacob, Kochi
This refers to Kerala assembly speaker M.B. Rajesh’s column on the Malabar rebellion of 1921 (Beware of the Victor’s Lies, September 13). He rightly points out that the British colonial rulers tried to malign the people’s revolt in the region as a mere Mappila (Muslim) rebellion, in much the same way as they painted the first War of Indian Independence in 1857 as a mere Sepoy Mutiny. The Indian Council of Historical Research would be taking a leaf from the colonial playbook if it treats the Malabar uprising as communal violence rather than as part of our freedom struggle. The rebellion was against the oppression perpetrated by dominant caste landlords and the British, and the rebels—as well as others, mainly peasants, who were tortured or massacred during the counterinsurgency—included Hindus too. That’s why looking at this rebellion only through the angle of religion does injustice to the sacrifices of our freedom fighters.
Safdar Shadab, On E-Mail
This refers to your cover story on cryptocurrencies (Bullish, September 20). The cryptocurrencies are nothing but psycho-digital viruses. The so-called exchange centres are de facto gambling joints, and the cryptocurrencies mere casino-tokens. The rupee has the government’s sovereign support, the dollar is supported by the US government and so on. Hence banks honour transactions in such currencies. Cryptocurrencies do not have such support. The RBI circular asking banks to ensure that services are not provided to customers dealing in cryptocurrencies was really a step in the right direction. The Union government should now seek a legislative ban on crypto-trade. If it is not banned in the country, corruption will rise exponentially.
D.V. Mohana Prakash, Mysore
This refers to the column by B.M. Vyas and Manu Kaushik on the National Mission on Edible Oil-Palm Oil (A Slick Story, September 13). It throws light on the pros and cons of the mission announced in August to establish oil-palm cultivation in the Northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The transformation envisaged in these biodiversity hotspots could alter their ecology, affect farm incomes, endanger food security, and put a burden on scarce water resources in the long run. It also runs counter to the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. Oil palm plantations in other parts of the world have eliminated the ecological role of forests as carbon sinks and severely hurt wildlife. There is no need to replicate this in India. Instead, the government could encourage cultivation of traditional oil crops like mustard, coconut and groundnut by giving incentives to farmers. In a world ravaged by multiple crises that can all be traced to human impact on the environment, the government should evaluate the mission through the climate lens, no matter how economically lucrative it promises to be.
Vijay Singh Adhikari, Nainital
