Readers talk about TV coverage on Uri attack, Harsh Mander's article on Sister Cyril and more

World view
Diplomacy is based on self interest and because India is becoming increasingly close to the US, a long-standing ally of India is moving towards Pakistan (“Far from making us safer, India’s chest-thumping nationalist media is hurting the Nation”).

China and Russia want to form a bulwark against the US and Pakistan has found a place in both camps. India, however, will now be in a tricky position. Should we go closer to the US and further alienate Russia and China? Or should we maintain our ties with Russia?

Therefore, we need to decide our strategy against Pakistan based on our individual strength and not depending on our allies to come in and help us. They may extend support, but we need to be strong enough to take Pakistan on independently.

All said and done, Pakistan did not find much support on the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly. Even if not isolation, this can be considered a diplomatic victory. India is trying to downgrade Pakistan’s perception in the world and other countries are listening. The long journey towards diplomatic isolation starts with a first step – and India has taken that. – Abhijit Ray

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You are absolutely right, TV anchors have replaced reportage with hyperbole. However, what they tell us is what we want to hear – that we have stood up to Pakistan, have isolated it internationally, have defeated them several times before and are certain to do so even now, if the countries go to war and so on and so forth.

The media must act responsibly and report only what is true.

Is the TV news we see today a result of the race for TRPs? Or is it because of government influence? – MG Kapoor

Arms wrestling
It is unfortunate that this article tries to instil fear in the minds of Indians by speaking of the dangers of a “war between two nuclear weapon states” (“Liberals need to support – not mock – Modi for his U-turn on war with Pakistan after the Uri attack”). The writer should know that Pakistan is not afraid and hence, it is threatening India. In this way, the writer is taking forward Pakistan’s rhetoric, by not showing Indians the reality – that a war will completely destroy Pakistan. Also, the writer is not angry that Modi has shown restraint – he is happy because Modi has backtracked on his stance on military response. – Ranjan

Shaky premise
This article reads like something that had been kept ready for the eventuality that the Rafale deal was a no-go. It complicates things more than necessary (“The Rafale deal is a perfect case study in what is wrong with India's defence planning and purchases”).

The reason why India has such a variety of fleet is that we don’t manufacture any. Such variety is not a hindrance – in fact, it gives the country and its military much-needed agility and reduces its dependence on one kind of aircraft. – Sanjeev Daftardar

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This article is absolute rubbish. Stop publishing ill-informed pieces. The Rafale deal includes advanced weapons package, five-year warranty, maintenance, cost of storing the jets till the infrastructure is developed in India, initial pilot training and 75% fleet availability at all times.
The Congress deal was solely for jets. – Ankit Lakhmani

Caste question
This article implies that defacement of statues, rise in caste parties and honour killings are recent phenomena in the state, but these have been taking place for very long (“Why Tamil Nadu is erecting cages around statues (hint: it's linked to caste”). There was a misplaced notion among the Dalit leadership that having statues of Ambedkar in every village would be the right way to honour him on his birth centenary, but this was seen as an attempt to polarise non-Dalits. This caused inter-community friction and has been happening since 1991.

The author singles out three castes when he talks of physical oppression, but fails to mention the overt discrimination against Dalits practiced by many other communities.

In every election, parties field candidates that have clout over a particular caste and not because of their merit. When citizens see that their caste identity make them a vote bank for a certain party, they don’t feel the need to break out of caste structures. It is only in a meritocracy that caste structures can be dismantled. – Karthik

Contraceptive concerns
This is an excellent article and the problem extends to Puducherry as well (“The nightmare of trying to find an i-pill in Chennai”).

However, beyond dire circumstances such as rape, even consensual and protected sex can lead to unplanned pregnancies, which is the need for such emergency contraceptives.

Especially when abortion laws are so stringent – in Puducherry, hospitals insist on the presence and signature of the husband/partner for an abortion – women should have the prerogative to buy the pill, if nothing else. These subtle patriarchial controls within a seemingly democratic country need more coverage. – Devayani

Not just fun and games
What does "unspoiled by technology and pollution, it has become a haven for mountaineers and trekkers and offers a wide range of beautiful sights" even mean (“This video brings you the breathtaking sights of Spiti Valley in a way no human eyes have ever seen”)?

Are you trying to tell people in the mountains how we should live so that you city lads can have a nice time trekking and vacationing here? Trust me when I say that people in Spiti need the same technology that you can’t give up for even a day. They need it for survival in the harsh cold desert, they need it for knowledge, communication, entertainment and access, just like the rest of the country.

Our mountains are not just your vacation spots with no people and no needs of their own. Do you know that while you can spew whatever touristy information you want to on Spiti, the people here can only access post such as these if they can afford to use satellite internet, while BSNL, the only network provider here, struggles to give even basic services? If you really care about Spiti – and by that I mean the people of Spiti and not the tourist spot – stop romanticising the place. – Priyanka Sharma

Incomplete picture
I’m from Bangladesh and I can vouch that this is not true (“Bangladesh's growing terror headache: Poll shows 47% justify attacks targeting civilians”).

The questionnaire that the researchers used was probably skewed. Do you have access to all the answers? Do you the contact numbers of the respondents? I am suggesting that you recheck the findings.

The governments of India and Bangladesh are keen on maintaining strong ties and such reportage can dent the faith of the people. – Md Asaduzzaman

Water wars
The very thought of abrogating the treaty is against the Modi's stance of appealing to Pakistan’s people to fight for economic development (“Will the Indus Waters Treaty ride out the latest India-Pakistan face-off?”). That apart, it could also cause a serious crisis of governance for BJP, as the global opinion towards India would be that it is working against the interests of humanity, at a time when the whole world is trying to bring about peace and order. – Anil

Justice delayed and denied
Scarlett's case is just one of many – there are also the stories of Denyse Sweeney, Stephen Bennett, Andy Rodick, Felix Dahl, Caitanya Holt and others (“Men accused of killing British teen Scarlett Keeling acquitted, mother says she will appeal decision”). None of the cases were ever investigated fully and some are still in trial. We, the families of the victims keep fighting for justice for our lost loved ones in Goa. Every season there are more such cases, which the authorities in Goa seem to ignore completely. If the case makes it to the court the guilty are acquitted. There is no justice in Goa for anyone. – Sanna Cutter

Conspiracy theories
This article (“Who was Gumnami Baba, the man rumoured to be Netaji? Was he actually Kaptan Baba, the killer?”) fails to mention many things found at Gumnami Baba’s residence that showed his connection to Kolkata, such as evidence suggesting Durga Puja celebrations, news about the Bangladesh war and Bangla letters from Bose’s family and the like. Why would the killer Kaptan Baba have all this?

There are many others things as well that writer has purposely omitted.

I would like to the writer’s political alliance – this may turn out to be another Congress conspiracy to save their shattered reputation. This is called cheap journalism. – Dr Sandip Raha

Fuelling the fire
It is very clear that militancy in Kashmir is fomented by Pakistan (“Inside South Kashmir: Weeks after Burhan Wani’s death, Anantnag remains protest country”). The economic backwardness of Kashmir could be attributed to the corrupt regimes under the Sheikh Abdullah family, who had held sway over Kashmir with the tacit support of the Congress in the Centre.

Secondly, the Hurriyat and other secessionist leaders see to it that the common people and children are at the forefront of the agitations to ensure that if the security forces retaliate using tear gas shells or other forms of self-defence against the agitating mob, a lot of attention is directed towards it.

Thirdly, the secessionist leaders are great cheats and people of Kashmir should see their true colours. None of their children are part of the movement for separation. In fact, most of their children are well educated, very well off and in foreign countries or in Delhi, with government protection.

Aligning with Pakistan or seeking autonomy from India would only make Kashmir more economically backward, making it vulnerable to being taken over by the Taliban or ISIS forces. – S Swaminathan

Right note
Kudos to Aneesh Pradhan for educating readers about the intricacies of Bhairav and other raags (“Rashid Khan’s Raag Bhairav is a lesson in cerebral music-making”). Thanks to him, every Sunday morning becomes jouful and we get to hear some of the best renditions in various ragas. I’m grateful to him for making me understand the exquisite notes and swaras in each raga. – D Ravi Kanth

Political games
The Aam Aadmi Party is an urban reformist organisation that cashes in on the disillusionment of middle and upper-middle classes with governance (“Riding the anti-incumbency wave, the Aam Aadmi Party is gaining ground in Punjab”). It has no agenda other than corruption – even as it is getting corrupted with each passing day of the power struggle.

Increasingly, Indians are left to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea in elections. AAP will be like any another political party within a decade. Till then, we can only keep fingers crossed. – Nibirh

Administering ministers
I met Subramanian Swamy when he was an IIT professor (“I would have been a better finance minister than Arun Jaitley, says BJP leader Subramanian Swamy”). He is an intellectual and a great patriot – what else does one need? Yes, Swamy would have been an excellent finance minister. To say he would have been better than Arun Jaitley is a joke – anyone would be better than Jaitley, because he does not know even the fundamentals of finance. – Borram Reddy

Healthy eating
This is rubbish – I’ve seen friends and family turn vegan purely to help with health conditions and once they are off meat and dairy they (and I) have quickly lost weight and gotten over the lifestyle-related health problems (“A dietitian puts extreme ‘clean eating’ claims to the test – and the results aren’t pretty”).

This is just another attempt by big money to discourage people from getting well so they can continue to sell their junk food – but the masses have wised up. Mainstream dieticians or nutritionists are part of the problem, so we have to step outside of their purported expertise because so far, the only results I’ve seen from their advice is obesity on a scale to an extent never seen before. – Judith

Different page
I understand where the court’s perspective on the matter of photocopies of books, but I do not agree with its views (“Delhi High Court strikes a fine balance between the right to copy and copyright”).

The issue central to this debate is academic books. These were created with expectation that these books be used for academic pursuits. This included use of such books “in the course of instructions”, for education, and for learning. Beyond that, these academic books serve no purpose, have no target audience and will have no buyer, thus depriving the author of his sole means of livelihood or all motivation for writing those books.

It’s a shame that the above was not taken into account while considering the interest of the students or the educational institutions. – Rupnarayan Bose

State affairs
This is a good assessment of the events in Kashmir (“Why has no one demanded Mehbooba Mufti’s resignation?”). There is no doubt that Kashmir is always looked at differently in Indian political circles. Nobody asked why pellet guns are not fired in Haryana, Bengaluru and Gujarat where property worth thousands of crores was vandalised.

It is an irony that chief minister of a state with special status is not allowed to take decision on use of pellet guns, which is otherwise a state subject in India. One of the biggest reasons for the distrust for the Indian establishment among Kashmiris is that they think their blood is cheap in the eyes of people in general and politicians in particular. – Khurshid

Poor show
I am deeply saddened by the commercial collection of Hindi film industry (“A tip for selectors of India’s foreign language Oscar entry – it’s all in the opening minutes”).

I feel so nostalgic while watching the arthouse films of the 1970s and 1980s, or any of the movies made from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Gone are those days when filmmakers treated filmmaking as a craft, a passion, a profession and not just a business deal with an eye on the Rs 100-crore mark.

The attitude towards Oscars is just as unfortunate as most filmmakers still cling to the Indo-centric and jingoistic view that the Academy Awards are not important as they’re not Indian. The kind of films that are sent as entries from India has nothing or very less to do with filmmaking.

India also lacks strong script writers – we just have a bunch of grown-ups who know how to hold a pen and scribble gibberish and call it a script. There are film books available, thousands of films available online, scripts ready to download. But we hardly pay attention to them.

I hope the industry improves in future. – Sagar Srivastava

Order, order
The greatest enemy of the judiciary is the politician ("The greatest enemy of India’s judiciary isn’t the government but its own secretive system"). Let the politicians pass a law in Parliament that no man associated with crime will be elected to Parliament,thereafter,the discussion on Judiciary holds good. And regarding Justice Chalemeswar, he may be eyeing for an out of turn post of the Chief Justice of India from this BJP government. Everything is possible in India. Where are honest people left? – Onkar Singh

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If you look at the collegium’s opacity, one cannot miss its favouring dynastic appointments. Less said the better about the high courts. It is particularly bad in the Madras High Court. The best thing should be to call for applications, selection tests, interviews for appointment of high court and supreme court judges, as also providing for reservation to the marginalised classes. – JR Krishnan

Respect others
The present day leaders and followers do not understand who this man was or what he stood for ("The Belgian Jesuit who submitted the first-ever Hindi research project to an Indian university"). Now people cry for the blood of Christians, burn missionaries and blame Christians for all the troubles of this country. Will our people learn to love and respect followers of other religions? – KJ George

Ganga magic
This is a magical article ("‘Every day was a party’: When a commune by the sea fed and housed film strugglers"). So full of warmth trivia and cinematic history. – Ram Badrinathan

Mining sand
I read with a lot of concern M Rajshekhar’s well researched and eloquent article. ("Politicians aren’t only messing with Tamil Nadu’s water – they’re making Rs 20,000 crore from sand"). What is the government of Tamil Nadu doing to stop the ease and speed with which sand mine mafia work against courts, apparently with political collusion? The mafia is still active. Unless stakeholders in land and water work against sand mining even potable water will soon become scarce. – P Radhakrishnan

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Regarding the article on sand mining (Think sand mining damages the ecology? It ruins politics as well), you must also ask the Comptroller and Auditor General of India why he is not raising the issue of lost revenue. Please bring it to the notice of CAG and also Public Accounts Committee of Parliament. – Sundaram Ramamurthy

Language laments
I happened to glance on the article Urdu a homeless language ("Urdu is a homeless language in India. The Vice-President tells us how to change that"). I didn’t have the opportunity to study Urdu as academic subject. But out my curiosity, I learnt the language from my parents. I blame the modern educational system which is driven by need to produce students so that they can get jobs to fit in society. It is for us and not the government to strive for a language to flourish, not just survive. – Khaja Arshad Jamaal

Best medicine
This comment is in reference to the article published by you (We live in a bacterial world and there are consequences of messing around: Ramanan Laxminarayan). As someone who has been closely looking at results of treatment strategies that do not need antibiotics for treatment of infections for over 10 years, I can confidently say that for a range of infections including that of the urinary tract, where the microbes are smartest in the survival game mentioned by Dr Laxminarayan, herbal Ayurvedic preparations are as effective as antibiotics if not better.

At the charitable clinic i work in Bhopal, people are offered medical care through modern medicine as well as ayurveda, panchakarma and yoga – singly or in combination. We have detailed records including results of pathological investigations of several thousand persons who have been treated with herbs in place of antibiotics for infections.

The clinic is meant exclusively for survivors of the union carbide gas disaster in this city and those who have been chronically exposed to groundwater contaminated with poisons from Union Carbide’s recklessly dumped hazardous waste. Indiscriminate and irresponsible prescription of antibiotics has been very much a part of the medical disaster that unfolded in the wake of the gas plant leak.

The damage to the immune system caused by toxic exposure in bhopal was called “Chemical AIDS” by Dr Neil Anderson of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who studied the impact both in the laboratory and in the Bhopal people.

The uncontrolled use of antibiotics in such a population has created a terrible situation of microbial resistance. We find ayurveda offers a simple, effective and inexpensive solution in our local situation and believe that it could be one of the important ways to deal with the looming crisis worldwide. – Satinath Sarong

Beyond classrooms

Sister Cyril is a good friend of mine (“Sister Act: The nun in army boots who opened her heart and her school to Kolkata's street children”). I first met her in Kolkata in 2005, at a justice symposium.

While others were discussed what could or should be done, Sister Cyril got up and spoke about what she was doing.

I visit Sister Cyril every year, and she remains one of my main inspirations. – Lynne Moten

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I have sent this precious write-up to many school principals and teachers. As the author says, as long as there is inequality in classrooms, there will be inequality in society.

I earnestly hope that we all can commit the message of this article to memory. – Joel Urumpil

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Loreto Lucknow is my alma mater and I have also taught there for nearly 30 years. Sister Cyril taught Biology there and even though I was not her student, I still vividly remember her penchant for lizards – she has also done her thesis on them. We are indeed proud of what she has been doing for the rainbow children.

The RTE Act is a powerful tool for social inclusion. But in Uttar Pradesh, lack of political will is preventing it from reaching its potential. There have also been court cases regarding schools refusing to admit children under RTE.

We have good government schemes but very poor implementation. – Shobha Shukla

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It is extremely disturbing to see the lack of journalistic ethics on this article. The rainbow schools have been established by the Partnership Program, a Dutch company of which Harsh Mander is a partner in India.

The Partnership Program has donated crores to Mander's NGO. So has a church-based organisation.

Is this article some sort of payback for this donation? Why is Mander promoting his own people? Surely, if it is about education, there are any number of schools and organisations not affiliated to any religion that are doing much better work than this nun. Why does Scroll.in not feature those?

This is all very disturbing and poses a serious ethical questions on the content of Scroll.in – Rohini Revati

A response by Harsh Mander

"I met Sister Cyril in the course of my own life journey when, more than a decade back, I was searching for the best ways street children can be taken care of… Like many of the world’s great ideas, Sister Cyril’s epiphany was a disarmingly simple one. If every school opened its doors for street children, there would be no children forced to sleep on the streets...

I resolved with my colleagues that we should try to extend this same rainbow idea to government schools. It has been an arduous journey of a decade because we are still unable to prise open the spaces in the hearts of most governments for the dispossessed and vulnerable children from the streets. But still, in 45 schools in six cities – Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Patna – my colleagues have been able to work with state and local governments to open such rainbow schools in government school buildings for nearly 4,000 street girls and boys, and also persuade the Central government to accept this idea in government programming. 

In tribute to Sister Cyril, my colleagues call their organisation Rainbow Foundation India."

As the above excerpt from the article shows, while I have clearly stated that I was associated with the founding of these Rainbow homes, I am no longer associated with their organisation. This is done by an organisation called ARUN – Association for Rural and Urban Needy in Hyderabad, which has on its board eminent people like Bezwada Wilson and Vimla Thorat.

Rainbow Foundation India has board members like Shantha Sinha, Devika Singh and Anita Kaul. I am not on the boards of either, but I remain an ardent supporter and admirer of their work.

There is talk of the homes been funded by Partnership Foundation. Indeed they have been supported by state governments, the Partnership Foundation and many other Indian and foreign trusts and foundations.

Sister Cyril was awarded the Padma Shree in recognition of her contributions, and she is presently advising the government of West Bengal in creating 15 rainbow-type government residential schools for street children in Kolkata.

The letter-writer also mentions that Sister Cyril is a nun, almost as though this is a disqualification. For me, this fact is irrelevant. I am an agnostic, but admire Sister Cyril because I have found few who have done more in a practical way to promote equality and compassion in the classroom as her. Over the years I have written about many people whose work I admire, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and non-believers. What is relevant to me is not people’s faith or nationality, but their humanity.