Death of a doyen

In the death of CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta, the Indian trade union movement has lost a doyen. A simple man with a cotton bag hanging on his shoulder, he organised a nationwide strike by more than 20 crore workers in defence of the public sector. Dasgupta spent three terms in the Rajya Sabha and two in the Lok Sabha. He led a simple life, donating the money received by way of an award to the Punjab unit of National Federation of Indian Women to be spent for the children of victims of terrorism. He raised the Harshad Mehta scandal in Parliament, but it was the 2G scam that brought out the best of him as a lawmaker. 

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Bidyut Chatterjee, Faridabad

Justice delayed 

Apropos the editorial ‘Semblance of justice’ (November 1), it is a matter of satisfaction that Pehlu Khan, who was lynched by cow vigilantes, on the suspicion of cattle smuggling, has been declared innocent. His death through violent means is unfortunate and needs to be condemned. The Rajasthan High Court has rightly quashed the case. Heads must indeed roll for framing victims of lynching incidents and the killers brought to book at the earliest.  

Subhash C Taneja, Gurugram

Booked without proof 

What more authentic proof is required to establish that the investigation by the police was influenced by the party in power at that time than the Rajasthan High Court’s judgment to quash the case against Pehlu Khan, lynched by cow vigilantes in April 2017? That a case was filed against him in spite of the fact that there was no proof that the cows were being transported for slaughter, amounts to injustice and cruelty. 

Chaman Arora, Ferozepur 

Clean chit too late 

Two-and-a-half years ago, dairy farmer Pehlu Khan was lynched by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. The agitated mob propagated a message that served to increase apprehension and insecurity. Now, Pehlu Khan has been granted the clean chit, but the suffering his family had to go through cannot be ignored.  

Ishan Turki, Shimla 

Spyware attack 

Apropos the editorial ‘Stealth of surveillance’ (November 1), it is outrageous that Israeli spyware Pegasus has targeted over 100 Indian journalists, human rights activists and lawyers. Pegasus has impacted 1,400 devices globally in a very short duration. WhatsApp should roll out an upgraded and secure version of the app to stop the spyware from affecting more devices. People may be compelled to prefer another messaging app if WhatsApp fails to do the needful.                                   

Tushar Anand, Patna

SGPC-govt credit war 

The 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak is approaching and the occasion has triggered a credit war between SGPC and the Punjab government. Now, two daises are proposed to be set up, one of the SGPC and the other of the state government. There’s only one thing dominating the whole affair — the celebrations. Nobody is talking about the Guru’s teachings. The daises being set up matter little before the teachings of the Guru.     

Sidak, Amritsar

Panchayati icon

Comrade Krishan Swarup Gorakhpuria, who passed away on October 23, played an important role in building Panchayati Raj Institutions. He had been a sarpanch, member of panchayat samiti and zila parishad in Fatehabad district of Haryana. The Haryana Institute of Rural Development at Nilokheri made him a resource person for its outreach programmes. His death is a big loss to the cause of panchayati raj and women’s empowerment.  

Ranbir Singh, by mail

Hasty step 

At the time of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, I was posted with a bank in Patna. I asked the staff to count the cash, deposit it in the strong room and then close the branch. Most employees at the bank were Sikhs. My house was stoned, but nothing untoward happened after that. Rajiv Gandhi, then only an MP, was made the Prime Minister rather hastily. The rest is history, with far-reaching consequences. 

Baldev Singh, by mail

Mulk Raj’s works 

The middle ‘When Mulk Raj changed the story’ (November 1) was interesting as the reader got the feeling of being addressed directly. Best ideas make for the best of literature and the distinguished writer’s works provide both in abundance which I enjoyed during my schooldays. Exposure of students to good literature can be a long-term investment to shape their minds and values.                                   

Lalit Bharadwaj, Panchkula

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