'DigiLocker is a good initiative, but it needs to fix its flaws'

Cold storage?
I am a user of DigiLocker (“The DigiLocker was supposed to cut down paperwork but less than 0.1% of Indians are using it”). It seems to be a great initiative by the Indian government, but there are very few partners to the portal. The government should tie up with more departments to expand its usability. – Amrendra

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This article has highlighted the various challenges in using DigiLocker. In my case, if I key in my mobile number, it says I am already registered. When I choose the “forgot password” option, it asks for my Aadhaar number. When I put in that, it says I am not registered. There is a logical flaw in the system which needs to be resolved. – Mali R

Press pause
There are certain facts about Coke Studio that we need to understand aside from the fact that it’s building bridges and making the Pakistani youth familiar with their cultural heritage and all other undeniably fantastic things (“Why do we depend only on ‘Coke Studio’ to bring us new talent?”).

Most of the music that emerges from it is packaged for mass consumption – for people who are not necessarily familiar with the nuances of music. Hence, it is demand-driven, like any other consumer product.

Having heard the songs multiple times, I feel that most of them are fun and uplifting, but nothing really out of the box. – Fatima Zaidi

Bitter sweet
After reading this article, I honestly wondered whether the Scroll.in editor had barked out orders for a topical piece with a minimum word limit (“Is the kozhukattai just a South Indian rip-off of Maharashtra’s famous modak?”). After getting past the click-bait headline, the folklore bit was very pedestrian and not really relevant to the origin of kozhakkattais – but then expected as much when I saw the “u” in the writer’s chosen spelling of the transliterated word.

Contrary to the writer’s claim, the traditional form of celebrating Vinayaka Chaturthi is still very prevalent and exists alongside the modern celebrations. It happens inside homes and just because one can’t see beyond the adjoining street on festival days does not mean the practice has vanished.

Lastly, the blog that was referenced to support the assertion that Catholics prepared a similar dish does not provide any historical research on the subject either. I was expecting a clear presentation on the origins of the kozhakattai and was bewildered by the lack of research. – Supraja Ganapathy

Poor research
Why on earth did you use a Black Lives Matter picture for this post (“Community policing has made Bengaluru safer, and other cities can learn from it”)? Given that the program was so successful, aren’t there any photographs from Bangalore? There are so many problems with this article – is it sponsored? Where is the data this person is talking about or links to the studies? This is a poorly written and poorly thought out article with an incredibly insensitive picture used. – Nisha Thompson

Helping hand
Aditi’s is not an isolated case – there are many talented players in many sports that have had to suffer for funds and sponsorship (“What the heartbreaking story of an angry athlete on a medal podium tells us about Indian sport”). Let us come forward to help them out either financially or through moral support. Through this message, I appeal all sports lover to extend a helping hand, to sportspersons such as Aditi.

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After reading this article, I felt immense respect for the author. The way she braved the challenges thrown her way is really impressive. I used to be among the best badminton players in my school days. Yet, I had never heard of any badminton players except maybe P Gopichand (which we were taught as part of General Knowledge).

That’s just how cricket-biased the media was and continues to be even today. Reaching the finals, representing India in teams no bigger than two, are such great achievements. Still, we know more about a random IPL player than about national champions who performed so well but in different sports. I feel sorry that despite being interested in badminton, I had not heard of Aditi Mutatkar before today.

I hope the mentality changes soon. When I have children, I will certainly encourage them to pursue a sport if they too are interested. – K Pushpesh

Losing ground

After being in power for nearly two decades in Gujarat, the BJP is fast losing support in the state (“Did the BJP just concede that it may lose over 100 of its 282 seats in 2019?”). Ditto in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Support for BJP in Uttar Pradesh, where it virtually swept the Lok Sabha polls in 2014, has dropped to such an extent that it may emerge third after Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in the 2017 state elections. People are tired of the same party continuing in power election after election. That's the beauty of democracy! – Albert Colaco

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This is a pessimistic and biased view. Several surveys have shown that the NDA would retain power if the elections are held today.

The image of our prime minister is improving and the economy is growing faster than before – this will bring rich dividends for the BJP. The Congress, meanwhile, is losing one state after another. – Ravi

Arm-twisting

These are Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tactics to humiliate Nitish Kumar through his agents like Mohammad Shahabuddin (“Caught on camera: Over 100 cars in ex-MLA Mohammad Shahabuddin's convoy go by without paying toll”). Kumar should immediately resign and put Bihar under President’s Rule.

He should have Shahabuddin arrested under the Crime Control Act as he is a serious threat to law and order. That he and his convoy of more than a 100 cars could pass the toll booth without paying tax is a violation of rules. Seeing this, other criminals will also spread anarchy all over state. Kumar made a blunder by allying with Lalu Yadav for the elections. – Subha Singh

Equality for all
I read your article on goat-shaped cakes and dahi vadas replacing animal sacrifice on Bakr-Eid (“Goat-shaped cake and dahi vada replace qurbani and biryani for RSS-backed Muslim body on Bakr-Eid”). Thank you for sharing such a wonderful story – it reinforces my faith in humanity. I have much love and respect for my Muslim brothers for taking this stance!

We cannot sacrifice another sentient life, for it was never ours to give up. Animals are not ours to use or wear or kill or consume; they have the same rights as we do and we should not be presumptuous enough to believe that their lives matter any less than ours.

Discrimination against animals, to my mind, is no different from racism, sexism or any other form of oppression, marginalisation and discrimination. A religion should teach people to be kind and to empathise with others, and not to abuse the weaknesses of others to satiate greed or gluttony. As an agnostic, this is my firm belief. – Bhavika

Wrong side
Javed Anand’s understanding of women's rights and Muslim women's rights is as shallow as it was years back when him as a student and wasn't impressed (“Why Flavia Agnes ends up on the same side as the anti-women Muslim Personal Law Board: Javed Anand”).

It seems to have become a trend for him to attack Flavia Agnes to gain publicity. He must not forget that her work is far more grounded and rooted in women's rights and Muslim women's rights.

She herself has been a victim of domestic violence and is a visionary unlike you, who is neither a lawyer nor a person working for women's empowerment.

Further, I'm really offended with the language you use for an elderly woman like her. – Nausheen Yousuf