Lessons from Rajasthan

Apropos of the editorial ‘Pilot crash-lands’ (July 15); it is the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul that is responsible for the mess created by the Sachin Pilot episode. The Congress itself first gave in to the unreasonable demand of Pilot to make him the Deputy CM of Rajasthan and also the president of the state party unit. Probably, all this contributed to the vaulting ambition of Sachin Pilot. The senior Congress leadership should learn a lesson from the unfolding political drama and find out ways to prevent such incidents which only dent the party image.

Subhash C Taneja, Gurugram

Introspection for Cong

Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot was in a tearing hurry to be the CM but his plot seems to have misfired. It is also possible that the Congress may have to rue its decision to ground Pilot in such haste. India’s oldest political party, the Congress seems to be racing towards oblivion. Pilot’s options don’t look good either. Even if the BJP were to topple the Congress and form its own government in Rajasthan, it may not leave much space for Pilot at the expense of its own old-timers.

PS Hanspaul, by mail

Crisis in Congress

Sachin Pilot, a promising and talented leader, had a bright future in the Congress had he not let his overweening ambition get the better of him. His indiscretion in trying to dislodge the government of his own party, which had rewarded him so richly in a short span of time, was unacceptable. In this unsavoury episode, he has inflicted immense damage to the party and also burnt his own fingers. The party high command can’t escape criticism for its failure to handle the situation before it snowballed into a crisis of huge magnitude.

Roshan Lal Goel, Ladwa

Digitalising economy

With Google planning to invest Rs 75,000 crore in India, a good step is being taken towards a better economy. Covid-19 has restricted everyone to their homes and during such times, digitalisation is the right step. These days, not just big companies but also small vendors are using QR codes for payments. If digitalisation is embedded from ground zero, every one will be exposed to it. Only then will it make a difference and get accepted by all.

Khushnaseeb Kaur, Patiala

Online education

Refer to the news item, ‘Fresh HRD guidelines out for online classes, screen time cut’ (July 15); rapid changes and the increased complexity of today’s world present new challenges and put new demands on the education system. There has generally been a growing awareness of the necessity to change and improve the preparation of students for productive functioning in the continually changing and highly demanding environment. Although many people still consider traditional universities as the best way to achieve knowledge, online learning proves to be a great alternative.

Mansi Bhardwaj, Ambala

Systemic racism

Julio Ribeiro’s (June 13) and Rahul Singh’s (June 14) race-related articles brought back painful memories. I had just joined the Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. There was a student from Nigeria. The attitude of the students toward him was not proper. Unable to put up with it, he one day packed his stuff and left. A few years later, I myself ended up in England at the Manchester University for a Master’s degree. There were two Nigerians as classmates. The Nigerians and I, invariably, got a warm smile from the British. Later, the Huddersfield College of Technology, England, hired me as a lecturer in electrical engineering — a first non-white at that time. I mention it here as a salute to the fairness of British system.

Hardev Singh Grewal, California

Artwork on cars

Refer to the verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on stickers and artwork on vehicles. The order should be reviewed. The stickers are normally displayed on the front or back. The concentration of the driver is not disturbed by this. If these artworks are done on the side of the vehicles, these are bound to divert the attention of the drivers driving parallel or coming from the opposite direction and make them prone to accidents.

RC Garg, Kotkapura

Make masks compulsory

It is a matter of concern that most devotees visiting the Golden Temple are without masks. The SGPC should make arrangements to provide them with cloth masks at the gate itself like it is done with patkas to cover the head. An appeal will result in masks being donated in large numbers as a preventive measure.

Ranbir Singh Pannu, Amritsar

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