Suicide extreme step

This refers to the editorial ‘Pushed to the edge’ (June 16). We live in a virtual world where many friends connect with us through social media. If any person goes into depression, or experiences anxiety or fear, the responses of family and friends are not supported. They fail to understand the problems faced by that person. Counselling and mental health facilities in the country are not adequate. Suicide is an extreme step and a sign that we are living in a world where we are incapable of sharing our problems freely with a close friend. It’s important for the family, too, to detect signs of depression among a member and seek professional help. Mental support and encouragement might save many lives.

Amit S Kushwaha, Satna (MP)

Emotional wellbeing

A large number of people are resorting to suicide without thinking about the fate of their near and dear ones. Every individual faces some kind of a challenge. What people will say, is another factor. I read a line in today’s paper that ‘when luck smiles, we meet good people’ (middle ‘A library that opened new world’). Every day meeting good people is also not in our hands, we must live with trying situations and people. So it is advisable to speak up. If suicide crosses the mind, one must meet friends and family for support.

PARVEEN KUMAR, PATIALA

Chinese games

Kalapani is the trijunction meeting point of India, Tibet and Nepal borders, and its Lipulekh Pass is an important vantage point for India to keep an eye on Chinese movements due to the height. Having settled for a deceptive truce in the recent Ladakh skirmish, China is keen to keep issues hot here, as the ownership of this region has been fluid for years. This time it has perhaps tried to underscore that its communist ties with Nepal have better leverage than our Hindutva ties. Our economic blockade imposed on Nepal in 2015 ill-suited a friendly neighbour.

R Narayanan, Navi Mumbai

On the other hand…

We’ve witnessed a deluge of applications and protest of parents against private schools and to do away with examinations (‘Looking beyond exams’, June 16). The philosophy looks assuaging when the belly is full. The current time is not for any reformation, but it’s about survival. It is also a matter of the livelihood of teachers, who are suffering in this situation. Poor Internet access in remote areas is the failure of Modi’s Digital India. Financial assistance must be provided to students for digital devices, as this is the best method available to us. The worst-hit sector is education, as it can prove to be a hotspot. Talking about the stress level of students, if we won’t engage them in academic activities, they will have enough spare time to indulge in meaningless activities like PUBG and Facebook.

Varun Tiwari, Etawah

Religious donations

India is facing very hard times. Religious organisations should come forward and contribute generously to fight against the pandemic. The large donations made to religious organisations should be used to set up new hospitals, make ventilators and procure medicines. Moreover, this ‘revenue’ can help people who are badly affected by this situation in terms of food and shelter.

Raghav Singla, by mail

Colour conscious

The Punjab and Haryana HC has slammed the use of malicious words against an African national by some Punjab Police personnel. Along with a strongly worded warning, the court also implied how such nationals must be referred to. Unfortunately, cases of racial abuse are growing globally. Recently, cricketer Daren Sammy’s claim that he was called ‘kalu’ by spectators and some cricketers has not gone down well in the light of Incredible India’s ad ‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’. In our dialect, words like ‘chitta’ and ‘gore’ are commonly used. A Punjabi celebrity in her post described the lifestyle of elderly foreigners in impressive English. But the use of the rustic word ‘gore’ in the very first sentence was in bad taste. We should avoid using such words.

Sqn Leader KK Sharma (Retd), Nangal

Dhelas & damris

Reference to the middle ‘Mind-boggling annas and pice’ (June 13); a yard has 36 inches and the old paisa had 2 dhelas. A dhela had 3 pice and a pice had 8 damris (kodis), which ceased to circulate after the Partition. The conversion to the metric system was adopted in 1957. At that time, I was in college and would commute daily from Kapurthala to Jalandhar by bus. I would often witness passengers quarrelling with the bus conductor over the balance of 9 annas in naya paisa.

Karan J Kumar, Panchkula

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