British first

WITH reference to ‘Not our man in London’ (Nous Indica), the author has rightly pointed out that Indians are unduly going overboard over Rishi Sunak’s elevation as Prime Minister of UK. He is of Indian origin but will undoubtedly safeguard the interests of the British people. The all-important question is: Why has it taken Britain so long to have a person from a minority community at 10 Downing Street?

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Subhash C Taneja, Gurugram

Little to cheer

There is great hype around Rishi Sunak, the new PM of Britain (‘Not our man in London’). Indeed, there may not be any reason for Indians to celebrate. If he is a Churchill or Enoch Powell worshipper, like many Tories, India has to be circumspect in dealing with the UK. Sunak has already kicked up a row by appointing an ‘anti-immigration’ Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, who has courted controversy over her comments on migrants. Sunak is at the mercy of his constituents and Tory colleagues. It would be his priority to protect the ruling party’s policies vis-a-vis British national interests.

GURPREET SINGH, MOHALI

Why him; why now?

Apropos of ‘Not our man in London’ (Nous Indica); there have been instances in the past when economies were dwindling and governments were failing that a woman was put at the head of the government. Ministers knew that eventually the government would fail, but they would have a woman to blame for it. The article raises a pertinent question — ‘Why appoint a man of diversity as the head of a nation known to pride itself on its customs?’ The UK economy is failing, inflation is high, and at such a time, a man of colour has been put in charge. Strange, indeed.

Rewant Sharma, by mail

Pay parity, finally

Refer to ‘Fair play’; BCCI is the second cricket board, after New Zealand Cricket, to implement equal pay to male and women players. Putting women cricketers on a par with their male counterparts, albeit for international match fees only, will encourage more girls to opt for sports activities, particularly cricket. However, to ensure fair play, parity in other emoluments, such as annual contract and retainership amount, is needed for recognising equal hard work and dedication put in by women players. Also, pay parity at the national and state levels should follow soon.

Krishan Kant Sood, Nangal

BCCI shows way

BCCI’s pay equity policy is a historic decision. Promoting gender equality and equal pay for equal work is a significant step that will set the platform for growth and development of women’s cricket in India. It will also encourage young girls to opt for cricket as a career. Such a decision should be implemented in other fields and professions, too, eliminating discrimination and promoting equality and growth.

Shivani Sharma, Panchkula

Uniformity in uniform

Reference to ‘PM Modi moots idea of “One Nation, One Uniform” for police’; Modi has also sought close cooperation among states to tackle crimes and criminals through cooperative federalism, being the joint responsibility of the states and the Centre. Though it may now be for the state home ministers to take a call, such an innovative idea should not be ignored owing to the difference in political ideologies in various states.

Kumar Gupt, by mail

GM mustard trials

Reference to ‘GM mustard crop’; though it is a great scientific achievement to indigenously develop genetically modified seeds, we must be conscious of any adverse effect it might have on the ecology. An area of concern is that GM trials are compromised due to business interests. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee’s recommendations to conduct more field trials to assess their performance and impact in the Indian context, before using the variety full-scale, should be heeded.

RAMESH GUPTA, NARWANA

Delay in medical college

A medical college at Kapurthala was sanctioned by the Centre in 2019 on the occasion of the 550th birth celebrations of Guru Nanak. The IMA has already approved the MBBS and other classes from session 2023-24. The basic designs are complete. People of the area, which is medically backward, shall be grateful if the foundation stone of Guru Nanak medical college is laid on Gurpurb on November 8. It is hard to understand why such a long delay. A large number of posts of specialist medical officer/general medical officer and nurse are lying vacant in the district.

Gurdip Singh Bansal, Kapurthala

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