Consensus important

Apropos of ‘Two reversals and a missed opportunity’ (The Great Game); the Narendra Modi-led NDA government has taken a number of controversial policy decisions, subjecting the people to untold hardships. Demonetisation, Citizenship Amendment Act, abrogation of Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, Waqf Amendment Act and imposition of the Covid lockdown at a short notice are some instances. Like in the case of the three farm laws, the Panjab University notification and the Chandigarh Bill were withdrawn. For want of consensus, policy decisions taken in haste ultimately fail.

PK Sharma, Barnala

People are to blame

Refer to ‘Two reversals and a missed opportunity’; the Centre may have made some mistakes, but we Punjabis ourselves are no less to blame for our plight. Wheat bags rot in the open, but we opposed silos to be built by industrialists for safe storage. We forced the Centre to withdraw farm laws which carried much-needed reforms. We resort to rail and road blocks that hinders industry and also causes public inconvenience. We give free power to farmers which is overused and misused, leaving our coffers empty. We sell our land or take loans to send our children abroad; we take farm loans never to return. We have to mend our ways if we want to see a prosperous Punjab. Putting the blame on others will not help.

Wg Cdr CL Sehgal (retd), Jalandhar

Making higher education trivial

Refer to ‘The hollowing out of the vocation of teaching’; a critical shortage of regular faculty in higher education is a persistent national issue impacting the academic scenario qualitatively and quantitatively. This hinders research output and threatens the future of skilled and qualified workforce which is left with no option but to join as contractual faculty getting one-fourth salary for similar work in the same organisation. By normalising contractual positions, the government is making higher education trivial. Contractual appointments are outnumbering regular ones in most educational institutions.

Deepak Kaushik, Kurukshetra

Centre-state dispute over funds

The ongoing Centre-state dispute over the flood relief package has deepened because the Punjab government has not furnished details of the Rs 12,000 crore spent under the SDRF, leading the Centre to release funds only in small instalments. At the same time, government procurement records show minimal crop loss, as most produce was purchased and payments cleared — figures based on per-acre reduction rather than identifying the specific flood-hit areas. Instead of political statements, the state must present transparent accounts. Caught between incomplete documentation and limited Central support, the burden ultimately falls on the common man.

Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh

Glorifying ancient India

Apropos of ‘Gandhi’s views on Indian unity shaped by colonial teaching, says RSS chief’; Mohan Bhagwat’s attempt to dismiss Gandhi’s view of India’s historical disunity echoes the RSS’s habit of glorifying a mythical, unified ancient India. The subcontinent was never a single, cohesive nation-state; it was a tapestry of kingdoms, empires, rival clans and deep social divisions, often at war with one another. Acknowledging this isn’t “colonial teaching” but a historical fact. The RSS narrative of an eternally harmonious ‘rashtra’ serves only to manufacture pride by rewriting the past. Gandhi understood that genuine unity can grow only from honest self-examination, not from comforting stories. Interpreting history to suit ideology weakens the very nation it claims to uphold.

Balbir Singh Kakkar, Jalandhar

Maintain neutrality of Army

Refer to ‘Why Dharma Dhwaja matters’; when the Army helps hoist a religion-specific flag at a religious site, it blurs the constitutionally mandated distance between the state and any faith. This is not a matter of cultural pride but of institutional propriety. Using national institutions, especially the Army, to endorse a majoritarian symbol sets a bad precedent. Such gestures undermine the republic envisioned by our Constitution. It is imperative that we reaffirm the neutrality of our institutions before symbolic overreach becomes irreversible.

Harsh Pawaria, Rohtak