The great unwashed
Sir — Laundry, like any other household chore, can be stress-inducing even with the help of automatic washing machines and dryers. People’s sense of cleanliness and hygiene has improved with time. Parallely, the number of clothes owned by the average person has also increased, leading to ever-growing piles of laundry. This has resulted in a general lack of enthusiasm towards washing clothes. A 2022 survey found that two out of three young adults in America “dread” doing laundry. Is this why people are eagerly embracing the ‘no-wash’ and ‘low-wash’ trends? While giving laundry a miss occasionally can be good for the environment, can humanity afford such poor hygiene habits on the heels of a pandemic?
Gunjan Saini,Mumbai
Look within
Sir — The Union external affairs minister, S. Jaishankar, has criticised the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, for making statements against the ruling regime during his ongoing visit to the United States of America. It is true that commenting on the internal politics of the country on foreign trips cannot be justified. But the prime minister, Narendra Modi, is equally guilty in this regard.
The head of the government represents the country at home as well as abroad. It is thus unfortunate that during his countless foreign tours, Modi has made statements that are not only divisive and defamatory but also devoid of facts. He breached a decades-old consensus among Indian politicians to not speak ill of the country or its representatives on foreign soil. The ruling party should look at its own leaders before preaching others.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,Faridabad
Brutal apathy
Sir — Mukul Kesavan’s column, “Existential terror” (June 4), was incisive. In spite of the widespread condemnation of the police brutality against the protesting wrestlers, there seems to be no change in the government’s stance: action is yet to be taken against the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual assault by several women wrestlers. Singh is being protected, just like the Union minister, Ajay Mishra Teni — his son had allegedly fatally overrun protesting farmers with his car — had been last year.
Shovanlal Chakraborty,Calcutta
Sir — The inaction against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh revealed that slogans of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ notwithstanding, the ruling dispensation is a deeply patriarchal and misogynistic organisation. The government turns to the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ when one of its leaders faces allegations. Singh’s support base in half a dozen Lok Sabha constituencies is the reason why he has been enjoying immunity from arrest.
S.H. Quadri,Bikaner
Sir — The Central government has been unjust to the protesting wrestlers. In any sexual harassment case, the accused would have been arrested as soon as a first information report was lodged. But even the first FIR against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was filed only after the intervention of the Supreme Court. In “Existential terror”, Mukul Kesavan correctly argued that the reason behind the government’s insensitivity is its fear of “successful, articulate, disobedient” women.
K. Nehru Patnaik,Visakhapatnam
Marked shift
Sir — There has been a marked shift in the attitude of the chief minister of Telangana, K. Chandrashekhar Rao. He had been campaigning to become the axis of the Opposition alliance until recently. But Rao seems to be feeling isolated. His party, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, was not part of the group of 19 Opposition parties that boycotted the inauguration of the new Parliament building. A possible reason behind this can be the upcoming Telangana assembly elections, which will prove to be a challenge for Rao given the anti-incumbency factor.
Md. Ismayeel,Mumbai
Sliding numbers
Sir — The editorial, “Worrying dip” (June 5), rightly argues that the fall in pass percentage in the board examinations held this year can be attributed to the huge gap in learning created by the Covid-19 pandemic. The digital model of education, high vacancies in teaching posts and other factors have widened this gap. The hybrid model of learning should thus look towards addressing these challenges.
Sukhendu Bhattacharjee,Hooghly
Think again
Sir — It is obvious that the ecological balance of the delicate hilly region of North Bengal will be disturbed if resorts are set up in the tea gardens (“Hill parties flagtea tourism ‘violations’”, June 4). Darjeeling has been increasingly feeling the adverse impacts of climate change.
While tourism projects will create employment opportunities and bolster the economy, they will also cause irreparable damage to the mountains’ ecosystem, leading to heatwaves and soil erosion. It may also degrade the quality of the much-coveted Darjeeling tea. The government must rethink its decision.
Somnath Manna,Howrah
Wonder cure
Sir — It was interesting to read about the history of Imatinib, which is used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia, in the article, “Head and Tails” (June 5). Its discovery would not have been possible without the contributions of the American oncologist, Brian J. Druker.
Amit Brahmo,Calcutta
Sir — It is heartening that Imatinib may be the silver bullet to slay cancer. But most such life-saving drugs are extremely expensive and out of reach for the majority.
C.S.K. Ramachandran,Chennai