Letters

Readers respond.

Stand-up comedy

The article “Being Muslim, and a comic” made for interesting reading (Cover Story, December 1). Humour and wit are the very spice of life; they not only have the power to ease difficult and traumatic situations but can also spur socialisation. A law must be immediately enacted to protect comedians from political harassment. Indeed, true humour and wit have no barriers.

Peter Castellino

Mumbai

Assembly elections

The elections to the State Assemblies of Rajasthan, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana are at once an acid test of survival for the Congress and a litmus test of the policies and programmes of the Narendra Modi government. (“High Stakes for the Congress”, December 1). No other election in recent memory has evoked so much interest and enthusiasm across the nation. We eagerly await the final results on December 3 with bated breath.

B. Suresh Kumar

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Adivasis

Despite repeated promises by the BJP and the Congress, Adivasis, a crucial vote bank in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, continue to be bogged down by poverty and deprivation (“When Adivasis matter”, December 1).

The large-scale migration of tribal people from this belt to Gujarat in search of employment is a matter of great concern. From Malwa-Nimar and Mahakoshal to the Vindhya region, the welfare schemes of successive governments have barely touched the tip of the iceberg. Issues like drinking water, agricultural distress, poor implementation of government schemes, and atrocities against Adivasis have not been adequately addressed. One agrees with the writer that the Adivasis have no pattas, or land titles, and are unable to make rightful claims when their lands are taken away for so-called development. Worse, Madhya Pradesh tops the list when it comes to cases of violence against Adivasis.

Kangayam R. Narasimhan

Chennai

Mayawati

The Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati may avoid meeting with the media since the media has never been kind to her, but she has always spoken up in Parliament for the oppressed without fear or favour (“An icon in retreat”, December 1). Her most astonishing accomplishment is that today when women from the Bahujan community aspire to enter politics, they say they want to be like her.

Diwakar Mishra

New Delhi

Maratha reservation

Manoj Jarange Patil’s commitment to sitting on a hunger strike demanding Maratha reservation is commendable (“Who set the cat among Maharashtra’s Pigeons?”, December 1). His protest can usher in a serious political crisis for Eknath Shinde in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. While Shinde has to perform a balancing act, the issue of reservation, too, needs to be looked into as soon as possible.

Sudarshan

Kolkata

Mahua Moitra

The planned eviction of Mahua Moitra from Parliament for sharing her login details, her being denied the opportunity to cross-examine the complainant, and the absence of proof of allegations of pecuniary benefits from others, all point to vengeance on the part of the ruling regime to dislodge her in haste (Interview with Mahua Moitra, December 1). Irrespective of the extant rules, an inquiry committee can and should only give its findings; it cannot recommend punishment at all as that is against the tenets of law and natural justice.

When complaints are preferred against an MP, the bona fides of the accusations and mala fide intentions are to be checked and only then culpability, if any, is to be established. One’s personal matters ought not to be brought irrelevantly to the fore against such a complaint.

It is appalling that a sitting MP has accused the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee of misogyny and the government maintains a stoic indifference. If this is the case with a sitting MP, one shudders to think about the consequences of safety and security for an ordinary female citizen when she fights for her legitimate rights.

With this new low, the present dispensation has completed a full malicious circle of cruelty since 2014, from tormenting minorities for their culinary and sartorial preferences, muzzling the voices of journalists with the sedition charge, targeting members of the opposition through governmental agencies, and finally training its guns against MPs who dare to raise uncomfortable questions.

B. Rajasekaran

Bengaluru

Air pollution

The air quality in Delhi and the NCR worsens every winter (“Clearing the air”, December 1). A strict enforcement banning the entry of diesel vehicles from other States, the discontinuing of all types of commercial vehicles that are 15 years old, and a freeze on construction activities during peak winter would bring down the air pollution considerably.

Like the odd-even scheme, the Delhi government would also do well to have a “No private vehicles (except EVs) on road” day every week. Offices and industries could implement a work-from-home mode wherever feasible during winter months to bring down the movement of private vehicles on roads. Schools and colleges could resort to online coaching during winter as was being done during the COVID lockdown. Delhi can have clear blue skies if these measures are implemented in letter and spirit.

R.V. Baskaran

Chennai

Genocide in Gaza

The November 17 issue of Frontline rightly focussed on the genocide being perpetrated by Israel in collaboration with the US and other imperialist forces in Gaza. This macabre dance of death, destruction, and horror continues unabated in naked violation of international laws and UN resolutions. Israel and its Western allies are doomed to suffer a humiliating defeat in the long run notwithstanding the incessant bombings and unabated brute assault through land and sea on Gaza, the world’s largest open-air prison.

Tariq Ali has rightly pointed out that New Delhi is the only capital that has not risen in protest against this extermination of the Palestine nation by Israel and its Western allies. To remain silent is also a crime against humanity. India’s role in the UN General Assembly is disgraceful and highly objectionable.

The attempt to project the Palestine issue as a religious one and the aggression of so-called terrorism as fuelled and organised by Muslim fundamentalists is a big lie and a calculated smear campaign. The occupation force and an occupied nation cannot be equated and seen through a religious and communal prism.

The two-state solution should be implemented, and peace should be given a chance. Israel and its allies should be put on trial for unpardonable war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Purushuttam Roy Barman

Agartala, Tripura

The whole issue, from the Editor’s Note onwards, was like one-way traffic (Cover Story, November 17). It was Hamas that attacked Israel on October 7 by firing 5,000 rockets and killing innocent children and citizens who were praying inside their homes. War is not the solution but self-defence is necessary.

B.L. Sachdeva

New Delhi