Covid vaccination

It is heartening that India has achieved the milestone of vaccinating more than 20 crores of its population in 130 days and has become the second country after the US to reach this figure. No small achievement for a vast country like ours. The figures would have been much better had the country maintained the pace of inoculation at the level it was started. In the midst of the second wave, we can no longer afford to slow down the vaccination drive. We must identify the means to speed up inoculation by ramping up production and making it available all over the country. It also needs to be ensured that people taking the first dose are given the second dose in the stipulated time since they will remain vulnerable till even after a few days of the second dose.

Dinesh Kumar Verma, Panchkula

Why PM’s photo?

Refer to the PM’s photo on vaccine certificates; what a publicity culture our politicians have developed! It’s shameful that politicians must have their stamp on everything. What’s the need for the photo? Is it his personal property? A politician, whoever he may be, serves the country in his official capacity, for which he is paid a huge amount. When the country is passing through a catastrophic phase of Covid, such leaders are adopting all means to gain cheap popularity.

Gursharan Singh Kainth, Amritsar

Nehru stands tall

Refer to ‘A thousand lies can’t dwarf…’; it is quite painful to note that Nehru is presented poorly in the eyes of the present generation by his opponents. Nehru was the PM of this country for a full 17 years, and made huge contributions in the freedom struggle of this country along with Mahatma Gandhi. He is rightly called the architect of modern India. His book, The Discovery of India, is the most inspiring book for young readers even today.

Ravinder Kumar Jain, Ludhiana

Nehru did err

The article ‘A thousand lies can’t dwarf the giant Nehru was’ is in appreciation of Nehru, but his great failures in matters of J&K, Sikhs of Punjab, and the border dispute with China are still lingering and have cost the Indian polity and economy dearly. At least the Sikh issue could have been resolved by him because it was entirely in his hands, but he said he was prepared to face ‘civil war’ (October 1952, ‘Times’, London). It turned out to be worse than that. It cost his daughter’s life, besides the lives of thousands of Sikhs, and the breaking of social bonds.

Baldev Singh, Melbourne

Balanced path

Reference to ‘Regulating digital media’; the claim of India is genuine against WhatsApp, but for the greed of financial profits, the company is discriminating against India on the grounds of privacy rights. Just because India does not have a data protection law, WhatsApp is taking advantage of it. The nations having proper data protection laws, like European economies, have tightened the hands of WhatsApp and allow users not to share their privacy. In these stressed conditions, India is facing several problems. The two should think and negotiate for a balanced path. If this platform is used with some seriousness, it can change the world at the ground level.

Jaskirat Singh Batra, Muktsar

Cyber harassment

Refer to ‘Statute needed to curb gender-based cybercrime’; indeed, cyber harassment, rape and death threats clutter the overburdened headspace of the 21st century woman. It is imperative to introduce a statute and also make the toughest provisions in the IT Act so that such crimes can be curbed. All measures should be taken to check cybercrime in online and offline modes.

Saroj Bala, Sirsa

Tokyo Olympics

Opinion polls show that the majority of Japanese public is opposed to holding the games (‘Cancel or not to cancel Tokyo Olympics’). But then cancelling the Olympics and Paralympics will cost Japan around 1.81 trillion yen ($17 billion). Japanese newspaper publisher Asahi Shimbun (an official partner of Tokyo Olympics) called for the summer games to be cancelled, in an editorial citing risk to public safety and strain on the medical system from the pandemic. Shimbun later said it remained committed to being an official partner of the games and that its editorial division had its independent mission. Was it a tactful retraction? Pragmatic and practical, as the Japanese are, it would be anachronistic to counsel them. Even then, being a fellow human being, it may be submitted that in the totality of the circumstances cancellation may be a better choice.

Beant Singh Bedi, Mohali

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