Letters to the Editor

Jammu & Kashmir

THE Cover Story (September 27), particularly the essay “Domestic or world issue?”, nailed all the lies behind the Centre’s grandstanding on the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A. The smouldering anger in Kashmir cannot be swept under the carpet by the Centre’s Goebbelsian propaganda for too long. The legal scholar Faizan Mustafa summed up the truth when he wrote in The Hindu: “In reality, the ‘special status’ Article 370 conferred was not to J&K but to the Central government.”

Ayyasseri Raveendranath

Aranmula, Kerala

THE desperate agenda to literally suffocate Kashmiris will ultimately boomerang on the powers that be. There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for the beleaguered Kashmiris. The Centre’s idea that the Kashmir issue can be solved through military and economic means seems to be an instance of daydreaming. The need of the hour is to recognise the spirit of “Kashmiriyat”.

Detaining juveniles is a grotesque violation of basic human rights. Further, with hospitals running short of essential drugs, the situation may become a crisis, if not a catastrophe. There has been worldwide condemnation of the Centre’s actions in Jammu and Kashmir.

S. Murali

Vellore, Tamil Nadu

Kashmir has been in turmoil for a long time, and this has created long-term problems for both India and Pakistan. Education, job creation, a peaceful environment, sowing the seeds of love, economic growth, technology and support for agricultural activities will go a long way in making a positive impact on the region.

P. Senthil Saravana Durai

Mumbai

THE Jammu and Kashmir administration’s blanket ban on Muslim congregations at major Eid venues was a painful twist in the historical episode of abrogating Article 370 (Interview with Ghulam Ahmad Mir, September 13). News channels came out with a plethora of false narratives on troop deployment in the State. Through these falsehoods, each Kashmiri has been politically deceived.

Democracy is defined as “government of the people, by the people and for the people”. But these days in India, the world’s largest democratic country, this statement should be changed to “government of self-selected politicians, for self-selected politicians”. The interview exposed the despair all Kashmiris feel now. The BJP has decided to make India a “Hindu Rashtra”, and that is why it has made it possible for people from outside the region to buy property in Jammu and Kashmir.

Nairul S.K.

Tirurangadi, Kerala

NRC

IT is unfortunate that many names were left out of the final list of the National Register of Citizens, thereby creating fear (“List of exclusion”, September 27). However, Home Minister Amit Shah’s assurance that no genuine citizens would be deported or arrested comes as some solace. As the NRC exercise in Assam to identify illegal migrants was done under the watchful eyes of the Supreme Court, it was baffling why the Congress and Mamata Banerjee tried to politicise the issue. Notwithstanding the reality that large numbers of illegal immigrants need to be deported from Assam, it is incorrect to say that Mamata Banerjee is shielding Bangladeshi infiltrators. The Congress and Mamata Banerjee blame the BJP for the way the NRC exercise has been conducted even though neither the Centre nor the State government had any hand in creating the NRC list.

K.R. Srinivasan

Secunderabad, Telangana

The quetzal

Photographing wildlife is not an easy job (“Emerald jewel of the forest”, September 27). It requires a great deal of patience to capture the different aspects of birds and animals in a vast forest. The pictures of the elusive quetzal bird were a feast for the eyes.

It is interesting that as is the case with peacocks, the male quetzal is more beautiful than the female. I have not seen such wildlife pictures in other magazines, except in “Life” (now defunct) and “National Geographic”.

Kangayam R. Narasimhan

Chennai

The Congress

Sonia Gandhi as the Congress party’s interim president has received much praise as a symbol of party unity and consolidation, as a person who once spurned the prime ministerial chair, and as a leader who exercised total control over the party (“Missed opportunity”, September 13). She has served the Congress party for many years with her quiet efficiency. Instead of just keeping the survival of party in mind, she should set high standards for it and keep alive the lofty principles of the original Congress movement.

A.J. Rangarajan

Edison, New Jersey, U.S.

THE Congress’ decision should have come as no surprise to any independent observer of the party over the years. The Grand Old Party refuses to learn lessons from its past and clings to dynastic politics to revive its electoral fortunes, though this has failed time and again. It is high time that the Congress leaders realised that the party requires both a structural and ideological revamp with a people-oriented approach right from the grass roots. The party needs to reinvent itself through a left-of-centre programme that can help it reconnect with the masses.

B. Suresh Kumar

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

West Bengal

THE BJP is paying Mamata Banerjee back in her own coin (“Game of thrones”, August 16). The horse-trading Mamata Banerjee indulged in after she came to power in 2011 to bring about an opposition-free situation in the State is being replicated, but this time with ruthless aggression. The BJP’s poaching has sent shock waves down the Trinamool’s spine. Partha Chatterjee’s assertion that Sovan Chatterjee’s defection to the BJP caused no jolt to the Trinamool was an expression of frustration within the party after it failed in its attempt to bring him back into its fold.

Sudipta Ghosh

Jangipur, West Bengal