Case fatality rate

Reference to the Sept 9 editorial ‘Covid epicentre’; though India has been reporting the most daily cases since early August, the most important figure in any pandemic is the number of lives lost. In this respect, India’s case fatality rate is significantly better than the global average. This is the primary driver of the Centre’s claim that India has handled the pandemic better than the other countries. But despite that, over 70,000 people have died of Covid-19. It begs the question, if the government could have done more to prevent the loss of lives. Now, when there are over eight lakh active cases, a majority of economic activities have started. As the daily cases mount, the health infrastructure will be truly tested. India is in talks with Russia to develop, supply and co-produce Russian vaccine, but should not rush till its efficacy is proved. A cautious approach is needed.

MS KHOKHAR, by mail

‘Sarv dharam sambhav’

The writer is mistaking Nehruvian secularism, which Nehru had picked up from the streets of the West, with the ancient Sanatani thought of ‘Sarv dharam sambhav’ (‘New meaning of secularism’, Sept 8). Ironically, after Independence, the Congress (mis)used the idea of Nehruvian secularism to strengthen its dubious policy of appeasement of so-called minorities, mainly Muslims and Christians, for political gains, and quite successfully, too. ‘Sarv dharam sambhav’, which is the real idea of secularism, is integral to Indian philosophy and ethos. It is embedded in our thinking and needs no special mention.

AK SHARMA, CHANDIGARH

India no pushover

The ongoing Indo-China conflict in eastern Ladakh remains unresolved. Despite talks at various levels, no satisfactory agreement has emerged so far. China is not backing off. Now it is calling Arunachal as south Tibet. India, besides defending its own territory, should grab Chinese territory. India is being taken lightly by China, Nepal and Pakistan. India needs a strong, aggressive approach towards its neighbours.

Vikramjit Singh, Amritsar

Saving the girl child

Refer to the editorial Beti bachao (Sept 9); when a woman herself becomes the killer of a girl child, only God can save foeticide in our country. Our women have started flying fighter jets in the Air Force and are on the verge of joining combat roles in the Army and Navy. Killing a child is shameful and cruel. The government’s campaign of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao has remained useless. It needs to be enforced. Indians will have to change their mentality. Strict punishment in such cases would go a long way in saving the girl child.

Wg Cdr Jasbir Minhas (retd), Mohali

Mustard for Bihar

Refer to ‘Objections to Centre’s new farm ordinances’; the suggestion that Haryana farmers should sell their mustard in Bihar is ludicrous. The transportation cost alone would cost Rs 1,000 per quintal, and the difference in the sale price of mustard in the two states is not so much as to make the deal profitable. Secondly, no farmer has one truckload of mustard to sell. If a trader decides to collect mustard from a group of farmers to make one truckload, the profit margin will not be passed on to the farmers. This is besides other risks involved in the transportation. Haryana BJP chief OP Dhankar should do his homework before making such statements.

RN Malik, Gurugram

Colour-coded jig

The dance number ‘Tujhe dekh ke goriya, Beyonce sharma jayegi’ has not gone down well with people and has received lakhs of ‘dislikes’ on YouTube. Twitter users rightly pointed out how the song was regressive and racist. The normalisation of words like ‘gori’, ‘goriya’, ‘gora’ largely accounts for this problem. While ‘gori’ essentially alludes to a light-skinned woman, it also denotes that she is pretty. In this context, one can see that there is an annihilation of both beauty and femininity for darker-skinned women.

Zeenat, Chandigarh

Don’t limit science

Apropos of the middle ‘A science fair that changed life’, as a student of class X, science was always the most disliked subject for me. However, the experiments and questions were fascinating. Once, a classmate asked a question and was snubbed immediately, ‘This isn’t related to the topic or syllabus.’ Perhaps the main reason for the disinterest of pupils in science is its confinement to the hardcover of textbooks.

SAMANTHA, by mail

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