'Nothing is more shameful than a nationalist government selling off our traditions'

Diamonds or tigers?

Glad to know that a wisecrack’s words of ancient Greece “that India is the land where rivers of milk flow and under ant hills you find gold” has some truth left in it (“India has to choose between saving its tigers or becoming one of the largest diamond producers”). And sad to know that the perversion of a money-minded generation of Indians are falling prey to destroy it all.

India has been the land of mysticism for long and the presence of natural treasures, like raw diamonds deep in the forests that have a certain incalculable heritage value, which by all means deserve to be preserved for posterity to be proud of such natural assets. It is the bounden duty of a responsible state to protect and preserve the tigers, the diamonds and all other natural resources for this is a natural heritage that we should strive and seek to safeguard as part of a noble tradition.

Falling prey to $3.5 billion and losing a natural heritage would be a gross and wilful neglect of our tradition. Nothing is more shameful than a nationalist government selling it all off. Certainly the BJP does not want future historians to highlight the hypocrisy of a nationalist government, which under the guise of development destroyed a tradition, and you all know who made the money. – Dhruva

The Bharat Mata paradox

Very well written (“Why Darul Uloom’s fatwa against ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ is not such a big deal”). Except that there is no need for a song and dance about the fatwa on “Bharat mata ki Jai”. To start with, the whole issue to put it mildly is puerile, if not patently mischievous. If mere slogans and shouting them from rooftops contributed to nationalism and patriotism, nations and patriots would be tinsel cut-outs and not worth a moment’s thought.

It is all about “doing”, not mouthing inanities. One slogan is as good as the other, depending on the type and frequency of noise, a personal choice, matter of taste and pretensions. – Naiyer Razzaqui

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These four problems are as old as the state and the Bharat Mata Ki Jai gimmick is a recent phenomenon (“Four problems Maharashtra can’t wish away by chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’”). Gimmicks have to be of the trends of the day, to pull crowds and keep problems at bay.

Apart from the problems of which the chief minister is fully aware, he has the additional responsibility of retaining his chair. The responsibility will be easily fulfilled if wide publicity is created through the gimmick of the day, together with passionate words on the epithet.

If only a leader of India would spare time to utter Bharat Mata ki Jai from the heart, true to his/her conscience, he will find the time and means to address the problems through viable solutions, which could really benefit the land and encourage beneficiaries such as farmers, children and women to join the chorus. – Raghavan S

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I get that a flow of ideas is important in a democracy, but I also believe that quality must be a priority to an organisation of your nature (“History lesson: How ‘Bharat Mata’ became the code word for a theocratic Hindu state”). To have an article based on one bad incident and a whole lot of conjecture while pointing fingers at an entire community is exactly as ridiculous as branding an entire community as terrorists. The writer has an inherent misunderstanding of religion. It is one thing to speak against bullying and another to believe that Islam prohibits saying “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. I would kindly ask the writer to explain what patriotism has to do with religion and also to let this reader know specifically where this clause exists in Islam.

The other is to brand a religious ceremony of worshipping weapons as a violent tendency. Does the author know that even machines, tools and pens are worshipped on Vishwakarma pooja or that even the broom is worshipped on some days in parts of India? Kindly let this reader know what other labels the author would wish to use for these other pujas.

These pujas are conducted as to honour the implements that we use in life and also request the god/goddess invoked to give the devotee the wisdom to use them wisely if used at all. In some cases, it is only symbolic. Worshipping power is not the same as abusing it. An article on religious conservatism loses steam if you base your argument on exactly the same ideas. – Avantika Sharma

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The concept of mother takes various hues such as biological, foster, step, among other things (“Far from being eternal, Bharat Mata is only a little more than 100 years old”). The same applies to place of birth and the universe.

Besides, alumni refer to their schools, colleges and universities as their alma mater. If they respect their alma mater, they really respect themselves. Similarly, if children respect their parents and ancestors, they respect themselves. And similarly, if people refer to their country as mother, they respect themselves.

Have you questioned the antiquity of the concept of creation of Adam, the “first” man and Eve, the “first” woman?

Giving the name Bharat Mata to a patch of land has imparted a sense of divinity to it. This may not make any sense to atheists and agnostics. – SC Panda

Assessing universities

Mayank Jain’s article as to why the latest university rankings as announced by the Ministry Of Human Resources “do not matter” much is a new wine in old bottle or the other way round (“How JNU and HCU were ranked as the best universities in the country”). Even when the ratings have been done by private institutions such scepticism is held, but not so vociferously when colleges are assessed. It goes without saying that St Stephen’s College, Hindu College or Miranda House are the best colleges in the country, isn’t it? It is a known fact that Indian universities don’t figure among the best in the world because of paucity of research facilities and funding. Moreover Indian universities do not attract the best of foreign students, whereas Indian students flock to the best of the universities.

So it is a paradox, the best Indian students, or a substantial number of them who are academically bright, go to foreign universities. The same is the case with teachers. It is a known fact that Indian teachers, not all residents there, teach in British and American universities.

The writer mentions the paradigms involved in assessing the universities. Of course there will be yardsticks to measure the best or better, however many shortcomings they have, as the instance of the university filling up the information and some information being unattended to. HCU left out some, yet was top-ranked. Why?

The article concludes rather lamely I think that quality must be an assessment model. How do we assess the sum total of quality in a university? The chart indicates that some student and peer assessment has been made. I am sure this is the characteristic mode of assessing colleges and universities. But we don’t demur when a Lady Shri Ram college is adjudged the best. What is the fault of JNU and HCU? Or is it because the controversies raging in these universities have to show them in poorer light? – Ananya S Guha

Imagined revolution

Will there be similar attention given to the mass suicide of many farmers across the country (“Filming the revolution: Why are so many people documenting student movements across India?”)? I’m sure not. To be very frank, there have been no student movements in Hyderabad after the creation of Telangana. The last thing that the people of Hyderabad and elsewhere need is media-created hype and charged students on a rampage. Stop patronising nonsense in the name of freedom of expression. – Avinash Shah

Morphing and manipulation

The writer is so confused that he has no idea what he is writing about (“The emperor’s clothes: BJP files police complaint against journalist whose tweet mocked Modi”). Firstly, he needs to understand the difference between a joke and a rumour. The tweet was neither a joke nor a cartoon. Rather it was manipulated information aimed at defaming the prime minister of India. So I feel that very strict action must be taken against the journalist who posted the tweet. – Prince Singh

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You are right in the sense that politicians should not object to humourous depictions, even if they hurt the “images” desired to be built in the public mind. But such jokes and cartoons can be published and there should not be any objections to it in democratic countries.

Many mainstream television news channels run such hilarious clips regularly. But people know that these are jokes even though they may be critical. However, publishing a morphed image of the prime minister kneeling before the Saudi rulers is not acceptable in a country that is not very literate and not used to such jokes. – Mahesh Shah

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According to you, the step by the government is against the freedom of speech of yours. Can you please morph an image of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and replace her face with that of a bar dancer? Or try doing something that will offend the minorities and then claim freedom of speech. They will cut you into pieces without asking or allowing you any constitutional rights.

This kind of attack on Hindus clearly indicates that you people are against the community. You talk about freedom of speech, but why there was a demand for arresting All India Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari when he made a remark about Prophet Muhammad. Doesn’t he deserve freedom of speech? – Prateek Sharma

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Call me a bad sport, but I too found that particular joke offensive – offensive to the extent of being worthy of being hauled up before a court, especially if it is a joke made on the basis of a morphed picture.

After all, we do not presume humour and fun in the morphed images of sundry actresses and other women. – M Rajivlochan

Positive reality

The article on reality shows rightly paints a picture of the participants and the changing scenario of dance in modern India (“Reality shows are letting even unprivileged Indians break free of stereotypes through dance”). These days even Bollywood and the rest of the vast movie world in India (including regional cinema) have changed from hero-heroines dancing around trees to well-choreographed group sequences, thus opening up a career option for these contestants. – Sheemantika Nag

Incorrect inference

Even if one accepts these statistics, the improvement in West Bengal’s economy cannot be attributed to the Trinamool Congress, which readers will recollect had stopped Tata from building a massive plant in the hinterlands (“Is West Bengal’s economy actually reviving under Mamata Banerjee?”).

It is much more to do with the fact that West Bengal started from a place well behind the rest of India owing to starvation of investment and resources by a central government ideologically opposed to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Given that the CPM was in power for 34 years, there was a lot of catching up to do irrespective of the ruling party. – Jane Ghosh

Kashmir prejudice

As an Indian, I would like to apologise to my own Kashmiri brothers for the present day scenario (“Anti-nationals and terrorists: This is how the rest of India views Kashmiri students”). To achieve political gains since the last 90 years, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has spread venom in the veins of the Indian masses. The symptoms are quite visible. People are acting so paranoid and frenzied. The state is expected to act swiftly but has been slow to react. That is alarming. – Prakash Paranjape