Letters to the Editor

Big Brother state

AS one born in British India who witnessed the curtailment of individual freedom, I was looking forward to the heaven of freedom as described by Rabindranath Tagore, where the mind is without fear and the head is held high (Cover Story, January 18). I am shocked that a government of free India is trying to snoop into our mails and keep every aspect of every citizen’s life under surveillance. This is not what the freedom fighters fought for. Freedom without restriction is granted to spy agencies while honest citizens are being watched as if they are dangerous criminals.

My father was a nationalist and used to get his mail stamped with a black seal that said “censored”. One hopes that it will dawn on those in power that curbing the freedom of individuals will backfire.

S.S. Rajagopalan, Chennai

THE S tatutory Order (S.O.) of December 20, 2018, is the reassertion of the Centre’s odious standpoint that the Indian people do not have a right to privacy. Using national security as an excuse, the Centre is attempting to snoop on every aspect of citizens’ lives, constricting their personal liberties. According to the Information Technology Act, 2000, the agencies concerned could only monitor and intercept data that were transmitted or received; the S.O. allows them to look at data generated or stored in any computer resource. This gives the lie to the government’s claim that “no new powers have been conferred” by the S.O.

Ayyasseri Raveendranath, Aranmula, Kerala

Governments , intelligence agencies and tech companies are all in the business of snooping/surveillance. They mine people’s information, often without their consent. The justification given for the surveillance is that it is necessary for national security (in the case of governments) or for economic viability (in the case of companies). Snooping or digital espionage is a means of social control.

While the expanding the Orwellian eye may improve “public safety”, it poses a threat to civil liberties. Citizens will refrain from expressing any kind of independent or critical thought for fear that the government will penalise them, which is exactly the point of the programme.

China is already doing this, but it is a one-party state. It is perfecting a vast network of digital surveillance known as the Golden Shield Project. India proposes a similar programme even though it is a democracy.

H.N. Ramakrishna, Bengaluru

Delhi riots

Sajjan Kumar’s conviction by the Delhi High Court has sent the strong message to politicians who commit crimes that the long arm of the law will catch up with them no matter what they do to escape punishment (“Memories of a massacre”, January 18). The Congress party should not only feel ashamed but also guilty for shielding him for so long. At least now, the Congress must take a principled stand and dismiss the other leaders in the party who have been accused of playing a direct role in the riots instead of allowing them to occupy coveted positions in the party and in government.

K.R. Srinivasan, Secunderabad, Telangana

Assembly elections

THE victory in the Assembly elections in three key States has breathed new life into the Congress party (Cover Story, January 4). But State elections are strongly influenced by regional parties, while national elections are fought on coalition equations. Issues relating to Dalits, farmers, the poor and the middle class will play a vital role. Further, the parties constituting the coalition must remain united over fundamental issues when no party gets a clear majority.

But what worries minorities most is Rahul Gandhi’s new-found “Hinduness”. No one minds if he keeps his religion strictly a private affair, but it bothers minorities when he flaunts it.

Kangayam R. Narasimhan, Chennai

Trade wars

THE arrest of Meng Wanzhou of Huawei Technologies Co. in Canada proves that the U.S. wants to curtail Chinese advancement in technology (“Big power tussle”, January 4). Arresting one nation’s citizen in another nation has become a new trend in global politics.

Nations use such arrests as a bargaining tool to wrest more concessions from their rivals in a trade war. In the fierce trade war between the U.S. and China,the global economy is the victim and free trade is the casualty. This arrest has demolished Canada’s claim that it follows an independent foreign policy. Such arrests are nothing but abductions of a nation’s citizen on foreign soil and need to stop.

Deendayal M. Lulla, Mumbai

Iravatham Mahadevan

THIS is with reference to the article on Iravatham Mahadevan (“A historic legacy”, December 21). “Tholkappiam”, the oldest available Tamil grammar treatise, notes that the northern boundary of the Tamil language is Venkada hills. At one time, Tamil language and culture extended up to the Indus Valley. Many facts were learned from evidence excavated from the valley and elsewhere in India because of Mahadevan’s tireless work. For a long time, researchers could not identify what language was used by the people of the Indus Valley. Mahadevan found connections between the Indus Valley and a Dravidian language. He was born just after the excavations of the Indus Valley were completed.

He will be remembered for his monumental work.

Siva. Muthukkumarasamy, Attur, Tamil Nadu