Readers’ comments: R Ashwin was wrong in his ‘Mankading’ dismissal of Jos Buttler

Pitched debate

Perhaps Mankading is good if it prevents the non-striking batsman from having an undue advantage due to them starting their run much before the bowler completes his stride (“I didn’t even load and he left the crease: R Ashwin defends controversial ‘mankading’ dismissal”). But the main question here is: was Jos Buttler taking undue advantage by backing up too far? Was he trying to go for a run before the bowler completed his run-up? More importantly, was the spirit of the game upheld by that mode of dismissal? No to all, in my opinion. And importantly, perhaps Ashwin wouldn’t have done that had it been someone other than a Buttler on 69.

I am not for this kind of thing. Ashwin was wrong because I felt Buttler wasn’t really out of the crease when the former was loading up to bowl. It’s after he paused that, due to the momentum, Buttler went ahead. So although technically this thing falls under rule 41.16 of the Law, a closer look would tell us otherwise. Does the bastman wandering out of the crease after the time by which the bowler ought to have released the ball amount to backing up for a run? Not sure it does. – Sudarshanan S

City woes

How can these people understand the importance of an elevated flyover (“Why Bengaluru’s proposed mega elevated road corridor has sparked protests”)? I strongly believe in and support this project. The protesters are citing concerns about the environment, but the govt has given a solution to that. It will relocate trees and plant more in and around the city. I fail to understand the claim that the project is damaging Bangalore. In great cities around the world, road planning is done precisely with no environmental damage and traffic moves smoothly. Even in India we have some cities with excellent road planning. I’m sorry to say this, taking public opinion is not the government’s job. Certain suggestions are welcome but there’s a line. – Syed A Pasha

***

Why is no one talking about the Koramangala flyover project? We face heavy traffic in that junction. And coming to environment, if the flyover is constructed, we will lose many trees in that area. This project is a waste of time and money. – Sundar Sls

Modi and the media

It is outrageous to read the claim made by the television journalist (“Watch: Journalist says Modi not giving press conferences is a ‘new paradigm of communication’”). If what Bhupendra Chaubey says is true, why do we need electronic media and why should journalists give coverage to Modi or invite him to their conclaves? Let him directly speak with him and remain a preacher who can be seen spreading their religion. – N Nagarajan

***

What’s the harm in Modi giving a press conference? In my opinion, it will fulfil the demand of journalists and many hidden truth may surface. – Praveen Sakhuja

***

Bhupendra Chaubey’s viewpoint does not favour a healthy democracy. There are other democracies where the heads of state regularly hold press briefing, including in the US. They also directly communicate with their people in their own way.
When a leader likes to speak only his “man ki baat” without listening to the other side, that is not complete communication. No doubt the press represents public issues, which the leaders often skip while directly addressing the masses. Public opinion is otherwise manipulated through media debates as well as an aggressive social media. A great leader has to be open and should not be seen avoiding uneasy situations. – Vishnu Sharma

***

Most of us have seen this coming over the last few years. Tough anchors have changed their stance and are now kowtowing to the powers that be. Bhupendra Chaubey is, disappointingly, one of them. Many others, I included, have stopped watching CNN-IBN because there is no debate and just humiliation of any one holding a contrary view. Chaubey himself pontificates for a major part of the programme, spouting his own views and opening the so-called debate to the panel. Woe befalls anyone with a contrary view. The anchor comes down on them violently or the more polite ones cut them short. The audience can see through this and television channels are insulting their intelligence. With so much news and data on hand. most people are drifting away from noisy television debates. The nine o’clock news is thing of the past. – Zarina Bazliel

Voter concerns

This is an excellent write up, precise and pertinent (“The Daily Fix: Unemployment is India’s biggest crisis. Why isn’t it the focus of the Lok Sabha poll?”). In addition to unemployment I would like to add two taboo topics for our policy makers as they would affect vote banks: population control with immediate effect and a uniform civil code. These have to be in focus too. – Swaroopananodkar

Electrifying India

The problem with current governments scheme’s is the willful connivance of both government and officials to show compliance with spur-of-the-moment ideas and the subsequent claims by the government, media and trolls (“The Modi Years: Do more Indians have access to electricity?”). It is not that the ideas themselves are problematic. The UPA government clearly did a lot for village electrification . Farm labourers on my lands in Uttar Pradesh give me many stories of solar power provided in their houses by the Samajwadi Party government. The clear difference is the lapdog media stories and government hype based on non-existent or sometimes false data. – Ajit Grewal

JNU row

Its really unfortunate that we the tax payers are subsidising the education of these traitors (“JNU ‘sedition’ case: Delhi court rebukes AAP government for not granting prosecution permission”). I understand that people have freedom of speech , but this was not the freedom that makers of the Constitution had envisaged while giving this fundamental rights. The media has turned these figures into celebrities. Please stop giving them so much importance. They feed on popularity. Starve them of fame and they will vanish. – Milan Parikh

Sound of music

Compliments on the excellent series on classical music (“Listen: Ease into Saturday with these slow-tempo khayal instrumental performances in Ektaal”). It is an endangered art form now and I am happy that Scroll.in has taken the initiative to make aware people about the nuances of the art and the great artists who devoted their entire life to preserving the form. I am sure this effort will make the young generation more curious about classical music, will give new information to students and serve as a treasure for connoisseurs like me. – Ashish Vaishnav

***

It appears to be my bad luck to have missed your earlier episodes (“Listen: Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Narayan Bodas, Bhimsen Joshi demonstrate how expansive Ektaal is”). The tracks are simply superb. The rendition of Ektaal from slow to fast is breathtaking. Please keep on posting such gems from Indian classical musicians. – Abhay Paprikar

Sterlite row

A patient with scabies has to be treated for the illness. A man suffering from small pox has to be given rest and quarantined. Altogether refusing treatment does not make sense. Similarly, in the Sterlite case, if the company had violated certain safety norms, the supervising government agencies are also responsible and answerable (“Sterlite: Madras High Court declines to give Vedanta interim access to Thoothukudi plant”). For some unknown reasons, the government refuses to hear the remedies suggested and is adamant to see that the factory is closed for ever. The result is thousands of families losing jobs. The factory administration has lost output and income. The nation is deprived of mined copper that is essential for electricity and defence needs. A firm handling of the situation and banishment of trouble makers from the area is the only solution. A religious body cum association which does not want locals to flourish to avoid them non dependent of religious freebies ,a communist wing of party to place them under their control have to be checked. – Vittal Anand Rao

EVM concerns

The architects of Indian Constitution had very rightly given every Indian citizen the right to vote based on a principle of one man, one vote and one value (“Lok Sabha polls: 21 Opposition parties move Supreme Court on EVMs, hearing scheduled for Friday”). That is one of our most valuable rights. However, Electronic Voting Machine scam are eroding this basic right of Citizens to choose their government. In the past few years, since 2014, there have been numerous allegations of misuse of EVMs to benefit one political party. In every case, the beneficiary of the “fault” seems to be just one party. Is this just a coincidence or a well-orchestrated design introduced in EVMs to benefit one party? With these EVM scams, the trust that Indian citizens had in the abilities of Election Commission of India to conduct free and fair elections in India is being eroded. It is of concern that these machines and technology can be easily manipulated. Despite Election Commission of India and State Election Commissions assuring that EVM’ are fault proof, almost all political parties in the past decade have demanded EVMs be scrapped or checked. It is important to note that advanced countries such as Canada, Netherlands, UK, Italy, France and Germany don’t use EVMs. – Shashidhar Vuppala