Readers' comments: Panneerselvam is the star of this Tamil Nadu soap opera

Split wide open

In the few weeks he has served as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, OPS has shown ability, character and calmness (“After explosive revolt by Panneerselvam, Tamil Nadu faces unprecedented crisis”). His maturity is what is needed today, not the rabble-rousing theatrics of a house maid. He has brought quiet dignity to this role. It is probable that with this simple act, there is a clear new future for politics and political behaviour in Tamil Nadu. No more images of white dhoti-clad men prostrate at the smallest instance. The first instance of male renaissance, thank god. – Vijayakantha

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OPS sir, you have done an extraordinary job by telling the truth about the culprit. Please fight for our Tamil Nadu, we will surely support you. – K Muthu

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O Paneerselvam, known for his soft ways, pulled off a stunner last night by praying at Jayalalithaa’s memorial and coming up with startling claim against chief minister-to-be Sasikala. Political parties of all hues, especially the AIADMK, are bemused and trying to come up with face-saving tactics to avoid a near-certain split.

DMK is playing the waiting game, but the BJP is playing the match of its life, eyeing an opportunity .

However, Panneerselvam is still the star of this Tamil Nadu political soap opera. Backdoor maneuvering by Sasikala seems to have engulfed Dravidian politics.

To prevent a repeat of the jallikattu protests, we need an able leader and not a leaderless state, as the vacuum may be filled by dangerous elements. – Devadas V

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It is not about how cultured or stylish Sasikala is. It is about her and her relatives amassing wealth. Certain constitutional positions are archaic and need change. Yes, constitutionality may permit her to chief minister, but whether the ballot permits her to be one will have to be seen. – Raghuraman CN

Money matters

The story of a CEO affected by demonetisation was a nice read and seems realistic (“A CEO’s tale: How demonetisation halved the profits of a multinational company that used no cash”). I am the in US and was not directly affected by the money move, but I can imagine how it would have hit those in India.

Corruption and black money does not seem to have been controlled by an inch. My friend in India runs a restaurant and was looking for liquor license for the last six months and said govt people are now asking for cash in the new currency as bribe and have increased their rates to compensate for their losses owing to demonetisation. – Subhash Negi

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Awesome article. It shows that Manmohan Singh is right. We used to taunt him, but he is a visionary. –Satyam Subhaprakash

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I’d like to add a few critical point to this article. There is no transaction charge on cash, but the moment you go digital, there is a charge levied which matters at the bottom end of the supply chain. The economy has to readjust to this new charge.
By transaction charge, I don’t just mean the 0.75% or 1% charge on card transactions. It also includes the cost of getting a smart phone and a strong internet connection and a strong redressal network for dispute resolutions with regard to digital gateways.

I view the entire process as contrary to the ideology of a vibrant decentralised democracy where every one is in control of his own sphere, opinion and way of living. – Ravichandran

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There is nothing new in this CEO’s story. Those analysts who said companies have no cash dealings and will not be affected by demonetisation are fools. The CEO who narrated this story should know that 99.9% of the organised business of almost all companies consists of cash less dealings. Cash dealings take place at the level where the goods reaches the consumer.

Hence, it is common sense that demonetisation would affect the entire economy by varying degrees. – DK Agrawal

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Very good. This means that you were doing business all these years in cash. How much tax have you paid in all these years? Stop cribbing and try to improve. – Pervez

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This is a very dramatised version. Why is this guy crying? Yes there is a shrinkage. So what? The idea was to get rid of unaccounted cash transactions in business and I presume that has what has happened in this case down the chain. Whether we will get rid of corruption and black money, I am not sure. The rot has set in deeply and the country needs to do a lot more. Six months of lower profits for a huge change in behaviour that is being attempted does not look so bad. – Ranganath

Capturing minds

I admired this article and the premise that the appointment of an ideologically charged person for the post of chancellor is anathema to the international character of Nalanda University (“Why a chancellor with RSS links goes against Nalanda University’s international character“). The RSS affiliated vice chancellor at JNU is almost wrecking havoc with the very foundation of the university, but fortunately the student and teachers’ body is putting up a strong resistance.

In the case of Nalanda, a political appointee is going to do much harm to an institution set up largely with the taxpayers money with a sprinkling of funding from abroad. Money from the foreign donors is certainly going to dry up further if a message goes out that the university is being forced to achieve some parochial goals of a nationalist group.

However, I disagree with the author when he says that two schools out of three are being filled with Indian professors, and the representation of foreigners is abysmal. He should have checked the professor profiles of the School of Historical Studies or School of Ecology and Environment Studies, where most faculty members have substantial foreign experience.

Most of these Indian faculty members have obtained their PhDs abroad and are cosmopolitan in their outlook.

Overall, thrust of the essay is most welcome. One only hopes that the essay circulates widely so that the intellectuals and policy makers know what is plaguing India when it comes to build an international institution like Nalanda.

Kind regards,
MK Jha

It is simply astonishing to see how this acute bias plays out. While scholars with Left-leaning dispensations and those who are Nehru-Gandhi boot lickers are world-class, a man with world-class credentials is against the university’ international character. People like these are the lot of losers and are losing all across the world, from Britain to the US. – Aditya Nigudkar

Health check

One of the less useful ways of looking at social-sector planning is to analyse policy on the basis of Budgetary allocations and ignore the fact that virtually all these are state subjects (“In budget 2017, Arun Jaitley gave flailing public health programmes little hope”). I recall utterly dreary discussions in the Planning Commission on such things as cost of food and medicines, never the nutritive value vis a vis diseases, or alternative ways of treatment. I never heard anyone discussing data on diseases based on region, gender, age or the inadequacy of coverage of any kind. The matter was dealt with using a set pattern of rigid priorities agreed to by the ministry and the Yojana Bhavan planners.

I had learnt way back about about food and other things needed to develop the body and brain of children. This led me to study maternal health issues and the importance of the development in the first few years. Later came the knowledge about the impact of food and activity on metabolic diseases. Long before that, I had looked at the the public health policies of pre-Independence India, which, after 1947, had shifted to hospitals and medicines, totally ignoring public health. In the last couple of decades i have been studying individual metabolic disease issues as well as prevention and cure based on diet and activities drawing from traditional practices, including Ayurveda and yoga. I have been able to reverse heart disease and hypertension in many persons.

Our food policy, water policy, transport policy should be the basis for health policy. Public health education from childhood is essential and should include play and time in the sun for children. I can expand on these but I trust you get the drift.
The alarming increase in diabetes and other lifestyle diseases, the number of adults with belly fat and rotund children, breathing difficulties at a young age and the like are connected to sectors other than health, where action and even prohibitions are badly needed. But these are ignored, at a peril. – Bmniac

Poll season

The writer has forgotten that in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has no leader like Amarinder Singh (“Why Rahul Gandhi’s decision to focus on UP instead of Punjab was a bad idea”). Rahul Gandhi is right to spend more time in there as Captain has taken responsibility of Punjab. What Congress lacks in many states is strong regional leaders. Where ever they have strong regional leaders Congress has been either ruling or main Opposition party. – Anzar Chennatt

Across the border

It is such a shame that you are promoting a Pakiani movie on Kashmir and speaking of its “patriotism” (“There’s a new movie about Kashmir – from Pakistan”). Your publication should be booked for anti-national activities. I will ask Subramaniam Swamy sir to file a case against Scroll.in. – Kartik Venkatesh

Eco toll

This oil spill in Chennai is heart breaking (“Chennai oil spill: With no machines working, volunteers are left to clean up one bucket at a time”). Mother Earth longs for her children to wake up before it is too late. In India, in Canada, everywhere – we cannot seem to get over our addiction to oil. – Carolyn

Fake news

Wrong, Chelsea! That is our president and as usual your reports are inaccurate when you say most of us do not want him as president (“‘Fake news is anything Donald Trump relies on’: Chelsea Handler on liberating the talk show”). At least half of us do. You are the last person we would want speaking for us. Do you really think people take you seriously? Stop undermining our president and country. – Joylynne

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Perfectly said. I am also passionate about fighting the hate and racism that has escalated over the last three years. I am a woman, almost 50 years old, and what is happening in the world right now is what was my mom and dad lived through during the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement. I’m so thankful that my parents were hardworking, god-fearing and loving. We need more love! – Melissa Showman

Learning lesson

Gaurav C Garg’s article on Padamavati row and its reflection on Indian education is very well argued one (“The ‘Padmavati’ row puts the spotlight on glaring loopholes in India’s education system”). I have shared it with students for reading. It is one of the best examples on the difference between history and literary imagination. Our class debates this a lot. This article will help us build a strong logic and argument. – Dilip P Barad

Speaking up

This is a silly gloat based on the applause of a hand-picked audience (“‘My lecture was anti-RSS and anti-Hindutva. Therefore, I hold it was in fact utterly patriotic...’”). The map is read from North to South because of international convention as much as the Greenwich Mean Time. Does the writer question how Tibet is part of China or Siberia is part of Russia or Texas is part of the US, or why Canada is Canada or Baluchistan is in Pakistan?

Talking about Islamophobia, the writer simply suffers from selective amnesia. Hindus of India, among others, were subjected to 900 years of slaughter and savagery by the invading Islamic hordes (and later by Christians.) The converts they left behind amongst us forced India to be broken into pieces. So, only to that writer and fellow travelers it this a phobia.

The writer should stick to literature and leave history to those who have a better understanding of it. Being anti-RSS is fashionable. It brings easy applause, specially from those who have not worked a day for a living. Having a scholarship does not count. Have you looked around? East and West Pakistan were de-populated of practically all non-Muslims immediately. Even under the Indian central government run by mostly Hindu-in-name-only ministers, Hindu pundits were driven out Kashmir valley. – Asit Dutta

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This was a very informative and visionary lecture and article by Nivedita Menon on the RSS and it’s real face. – Mudassar Maner

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RSS and Hindutva-bashing has become fashionable now a days. Liberal ideology has assumed dangerous proportions as its followers don’t know where to draw the line. At the same time, nationalism is no one’s monopoly and it does not have to be expressed and reiterated every now and then. Those who make anti-national statements in the garb of liberalism get exposed sooner than they realise and most of the time, have to pay heavily. – Krishen Khosa

No reservations

The BJP is aiming at gradually phasing out reservations (“Has the latest anti-reservation remark from the RSS forced the BJP to give up on Dalits in UP?”). They may first start pruning some backward classes out of the reservation list and gradually extend this to scheduled castes. The BJP may apply the creamy layer theory and make second- or third-generation Dalits ineligible for reservations.

This anti-reservation steps of BJP gets support from general category youth though it goes against social justice. This is best way of covering up the failures of BJP government in creating jobs.

The BJP and its outfits are also aggressively wooing Hindu Adivasis in Jarkhand, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha the and are trying to build up relegious fever among them. The BJP has mixed up religion and politics. In every Adivasi house, a saffron flag is put up. The party’s ultimate aim is to make Adivasis a solid vote bank. – Vipparti Ramamohana Rao

Mister India

The Rajya Sabha is not pro-India in its thinking and the judiciary appointments were done by the previous governments strictly on political and religious grounds (“Watch out, Narendra Modi is likely to pull another sleight of hand to legalise demonetisation”). The media is controlled by foreign elements and communists. So these elements will work against anything Modi wants to do to bring India forward. – Madhavan Nair