Thank you for putting Broken Foot—Unfolding Inequalities by the brilliant artist Prabhakar Kamble on the cover (October 4). A picture speaks a thousand words. This one also reminded me about the migrant labourers of our country, often reduced to mere statistics of exploitation.
R.M.S. Kannan, On E-Mail
This refers to your column in the cover story package (Individual Memory in a Post-Truth World, October 4). Wrapped in a pile of ash Grey, burnt, dead ash Was lying a pall of youth, a female youth And a pile of dreams, hopes, vision, desires Punished by the pallbearers Of an ancient civilization Supposedly the best in the Mortal universe. From Kathua to Hathras and from Delhi to Dausa, disfranchised Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims are victims of this post-truth world where lies and more lies have become the hottest selling cakes. In the kind of society and polity that we are fast becoming, even justice for victims will remain wrapped in the pall of post-truth.
Rakesh Agrawal, Dehradun
This refers to your cover story on how “a caste census could radically alter the political map of India” (Caste Iron Furnace, October 4). In fact, a caste census may open a Pandora’s box. It is true, however, that benefits of reservation have not been distributed equitably among all the groups that have been lumped together in the Other Backward Classes category. If a caste census could identify the most deprived sections among the OBCs, it could be useful in ensuring that the benefits of reservation reach those who need it the most. But the 50 per cent cap on overall reservations decreed by the Supreme Court must continue.
D.B. Madan, New Delhi
This refers to the column by Amandeep Sandhu on how the choice of a Dalit Sikh CM from the neglected Puad region “queers the pitch for the grand old party’s rivals” in Punjab (Congress Bowls a Caste Googly, October 4). Meanwhile, Navjot Singh Sidhu dropped a bombshell by resigning from the post of Pradesh Congress Committee president. The unceremonious exit of Amarinder Singh from the CM’s chair had come as a jolt to most Congressmen, who felt their high command could have handled the Captain’s exit more delicately. Jat Sikhs in particular are deeply embittered by his abrupt resignation. They were also not too pleased with Sidhu’s elevation as state party chief or Charanjit Singh Channi’s installation as chief minister. Infighting has erupted within the state unit between Sidhu’s supporters and his detractors. Indeed, the Congress that tried to pre-empt other parties that were promising a Dalit CM or deputy CM is now hoist with its own petard. The assembly polls due early next year will prove to be an acid test for the party.
Kangayam R. Narasimhan, Chennai
Voters in Punjab will have a difficult choice to make while exercising their franchise in the assembly polls next year. Should they give another term to the faction-ridden Congress? Or give the mandate to a political newbie that is hardly a decade old? Or give top priority to what can best ensure a congenial relationship between the state and the Centre?
Arun Malankar, Mumbai
In the column Silence! Nation-building in Progress published in the issue dated October 11, it was mentioned that the writer Kuldeep Kumar is a former special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat. He is a bilingual journalist and a Hindi poet who writes on politics and culture. The error is regretted.
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
