Not fit for House

Refer to ‘Unduly prickly’; the long list of 1,500 words used in common discussions and declared unparliamentary goes against democratic norms followed the world over. Etiquette and decorum have to be maintained but critical debate and discussions are the essence of any discourse. If a debate is on the subject of gangrape, the Opposition would say ‘the country is ashamed of the increasing heinous crimes’. What about the discussion on corruption, when the PM says, ‘bhrashtachar desh ko ghun ki tarah kha raha hai’? Majoritarianism is the order of the day and democratic discourse is no more the mantra for our polity.

Prem Singh Dahiya, Rohtak

Word meanings

The Lok Sabha Speaker has done a wise thing by saying that there is no blanket ban on any word in the House and the context of usage would determine whether a particular word would be expunged from the records. By themselves words have no meaning, it is assigned to them and they are not impervious to change. National security and national pride are the preferred matrix around which narratives are woven to create contexts and install new meanings. When India endorses declarations at international forums upholding media freedom, right to dissent, freedom of expression, inclusive growth, and suchlike lofty ideals, it jars with the real-life situation. ‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in an authoritative tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ To this Alice said, ‘The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ Undoubtedly, our politicians are capable of performing this feat!

Beant Singh Bedi, Mohali

Good for India

Apropos of ‘First I2U2 summit zeroes in on food security, clean energy’, the four-nation grouping is a timely initiative to harness the entrepreneurial spirit to tackle some of the greatest global challenges through joint investments in water, energy, transportation, space, health and food security. It is a positive sign that the inaugural summit focused on food security crisis and clean energy and zeroed in on two specific projects to give Indian farmers guaranteed access to West Asia markets and set up a hybrid clean energy project in Gujarat to make India the supply chain hub of renewable energy. It will definitely give a significant push to job creation in our country.

Krishan Kant Sood, Nangal

Anarchy in Sri Lanka

Reference to ‘Lanka in Turmoil’; after months of political instability and subsequent economic collapse, Sri Lanka’s civil decorum has come to a grinding halt with heads of state fleeing the country for safety. The island earlier witnessed assassinations, murders, mayhem and terrorism for nearly three decades during the reign of the LTTE. The Rajapaksa family came to power legitimately in 2005 with majority. People later realised that it was all a family business, putting the country in huge debt. The lesson for voters in democracies is to be mindful of their choices as majoritarianism is never the best policy, as has been proved in the case of Sri Lanka.

Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai

Retailer not responsible

Reference to the news report ‘Factory owner booked for selling spurious fertiliser’; the law pertaining to the fertiliser Act is vague and faulty, as according to the Fertiliser Control Order and Essential Commodities Act, in the event of failure of any fertiliser sample, the retailer/dealer is also made equally responsible to face the legal consequences as the unscrupulous manufacturer. The failure of sample due to adulteration is the responsibility of the factory owner and not of the innocent retailer. There are many such cases pending in different courts, where the retailers are also suffering due to the manufacturer’s fault. This Act needs to be revoked. Aristotle had said, ‘Even when the laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered.’ It is in the interest of justice to review this obsolete and unjust Act.

Achil Anand, by mail

Illicit liquor

It is a routine matter to find a news report about the seizure of thousands of litres of illicit liquor or lahan by the police. But after the completion of court formalities, its fate is not known. Probably it is thrown away. We have numerous prominent universities and institutions in the country, where research is done on various subjects. The state government should approach them to find a way to utilise the seized liquor and get financial benefits from it.

Naresh Johar, Amritsar

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