Setting onward course

The nation today is in a flux over reviewing the role of the pantheon of leaders who helped shape post-Independent India. Gandhi, Nehru and Patel together represented our national ethos that is incomplete without any one of them. That the Nehru era was ahead of its times enabled us to sustain both democracy and economic progress at fair levels. The first of the famed IITs was established ahead of our first General Election. The right to education had gone hand in hand with the right to vote, and technological and research institutes would form the bulwark of our macro economics. There is a lesson for any progressive nation — history is not for selective reading. It matters less where we started, but more how we intend to progress now more quickly and inclusively.

R Narayanan, Navi Mumbai

Not free from casteism

Apropos the article ‘Nehruvian modernity and our times’ (November 14), Nehru was the pioneer of modern India, but was not able to achieve his dream. There was casteism in India from the beginning, and now in 2019 also, India is not free from casteism rooted in society. Even though there have been several developments in the nation, the base is still functioning on the basis of casteism.

Swathy S, Kerala

Not ‘spiritual’ enough

This refers to the report ‘Post verdict, Ayodhya all set for massive makeover’ (November 14). The verdict that favoured the Ram temple has resulted in an increasing number of business plans to develop the area. The plans include the building of five-star hotels, airports, bus terminals etc. This is not acceptable, for there is no ‘spirituality’ attached to it. It is all based on the development of the area by selling the temple to the world market as a pilgrimage location. This is against the secular values of the nation and the government should not support this.

Ralph Tom Joseph, Kerala

Breathless in Haryana

Refer to the ‘Hisar, Bhiwani see worst air, Haryana clocks 6K farm fires’ (November 14); the alarming rise in the levels of air pollution in Haryana is affecting the health of residents in these areas. Even though the reasons that contribute to pollution are well known, the levels of pollution continue to spike. It is a challenging task now to bring it down to reasonable levels. The authorities concerned should come down hard on farmers who degrade the environment by resorting to stubble burning, with the result that the common man is finding it difficult to even venture out for a morning walk.

Devendra Khurana, Bhopal

Dangerous pollution levels

Like Delhi, most towns of Haryana have become a gas chamber, as the AQI is fluctuating between 400 and 500. This inhospitable environment has been prevailing for weeks. The state government can take the following measures: restrict the movement of vehicles by introducing odd-even formula; declare some congested areas as no-traffic zones; restrict the movement of diesel-operated three-wheelers on busy roads; encourage electric rickshaws; order the sweeping of roads followed by sprinkling of unpaved surfaces; stop all construction

activities for some time and take strict action against farmers burning paddy stubble.

RN Malik, Gurugram

Take cue from Delhi

Apropos ‘No teacher in two primary schools’ (November 14), while the government never misses an opportunity to claim having made strides in the education system, the startling figures portray a dismal picture of how the RTE has been pushed to the back burner. The consistently falling standards of education and infrastructure in government schools have sent alarming signals not only to the state, but also across the country. Himachal should take a cue from the Kejriwal government in Delhi that has revolutionised the education system in city schools. The state government owes an explanation to the people for ruining the future of countless students studying in the state-run schools.

RAMESH K DHIMAN, Chandigarh

Final closure on Rafale

The Supreme Court has done well to draw the final curtains over the Rafale deal by dismissing various petitions filed against its December 2018 verdict, while holding that they lacked merit (‘SC dismisses pleas seeking review of Rafale judgment’; November 14). Needless to say, the ruling is tantamount to the apex court giving a ‘second’ clean chit to the Modi government on the deal.

SK Gupta, New Delhi

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