Idea of Hindutva

Having tasted success on the basis of using religion to influence voter preferences, it should come as no surprise that the BJP is doing all it can in order to win the UP Assembly elections (‘The Varanasi spectacle’). The spectacle of the PM performing all the rituals was broadcast in a manner which would do credit to Cecil B DeMille. The BJP has successfully sold the idea that only it could take the nation back to its glorious Hindu past. It is an India which has probably never existed. Those who are critical of the actions of the PM are likely to be called anti-nationals by the propaganda machinery of the BJP, which includes some sections of the media too.

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Drinking young

Refer to ‘Haryana Govt lowers the drinking age from 25 to 21 years’; the Haryana Vidhan Sabha has approved ‘without any discussion’ the Haryana Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2021, paving the way for reduction in the age limit for drinking. One wishes that the state government had concentrated on providing the youth with better and affordable higher education facilities and making available much-needed job opportunities rather than encouraging them to go in for self-destructive drinking. The Manohar Lal Khattar government seems to be following in the footsteps of the dispensation in New Delhi, where Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP had recently lowered the drinking age to 21.

Vinayak G, New Delhi

No vaccination, no pay

Refer to ‘No vax certificate, no pay: Govt’; aimed at pushing reluctant individuals to get vaccinated in the light of the emergence of the new coronavirus variant, Omicron, the governments have to issue stringent and coercive orders when employees/people, regardless of their personal safety, find one excuse or the other to avoid getting vaccinated. Governments are duty bound to take necessary actions to check the spread of this deadly diseases. Regular vaccination camps should be held at educational institutions and public places for the convenience of the people.

NK Gosain, Bathinda

Tughlaqi farmaan

Apropos of ‘No vaccination, no pay, Punjab tells its staff’ and ‘In Hry, access to public places only if jabbed’; such ‘Tughlaqi farmaan’ smack of high-handedness and must be withdrawn forthwith. Nonetheless, all Covid-appropriate protocols must be adhered to and strictly enforced by the administration as we cannot afford to lower our guard. Mass awareness and facilitating vaccination remain the better options.

Lalit Bharadwaj, Panchkula

Fill vacancies on priority

The Education Minister, Haryana, has stated in the Vidhan Sabha that there are about 40,000 vacancies of teacher in government schools of the state. Some of the vacancies have not been filled since 2015. The question of availability of sufficient number of PGTs and TGTs has also been raised. No private school can afford to have vacancy of a teacher for a single day. The destiny of the students is at stake when a school is run without a teacher and a head. The minister could have suggested ways to fill the vacancies within a particular time frame.

S Kumar, Panchkula

Not for bureaucracy

The news that IAS and state civil service officers will teach once in a fortnight at schools of Himachal is strange. Either the state bureaucracy is overstaffed, or the schools need a bureaucratic stamp on their service. Far from improving the image of the government schools in the eyes of the public, the decision is likely to make schools as uneasy places for teachers as well as students. Experience has shown that colleges in Haryana, that had civil servants as administrators, had to withdraw this measure. The nature of work in the bureaucracy and schools is poles apart. Neither side would be able to perform in an efficient way when such experimental shuffling of duties is done.

Rakesh Sudan, Kurukshetra

Exercise caution

Information has started trickling in about the rise in Omicron cases. It seems that we have not taken the preventive measures seriously, as evident from the crowds thronging markets in this festive season. We should not wait for any directions from the government but observe caution on our own. Lessons learned from the second wave should be kept in mind by our leaders, industrialists, businessmen, medicare agencies, suppliers and those controlling travelling modes. Common people, especially migrant labour, should not face any difficulty. Sooner the precautionary measures are exercised, the better it is to keep the devastating effects of the deadly virus at bay.

Subhash Vaid, New Delhi

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