Daily barks
Sir — From reinstating the accounts of controversial figures like Donald Trump and Kanye West to monetising the blue tick, Elon Musk has turned Twitter into a place of radical transitions ever since he acquired the platform. In the latest change, Musk replaced the trademark blue bird logo with the Shiba Inu from the ‘doge’ memes. Although this may be just another marketing gimmick — Musk has been accused of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency, Dogecoin — the prospect of ‘barking’ instead of ‘tweeting’ perhaps suits the vision of the eccentric billionaire to the tee.
Devanshi Jana,Delhi
Grave omission
Sir — The removal of some chapters on the Mughals from the Class XII history textbook by the National Council of Educational Research and Training is disconcerting. Knowledge about medieval India is integral to understanding the history of the country as it is today. If students are unaware of the Mughal polity, they will find it difficult to understand the shifts in the political structure that were brought about subsequently by the British raj. In fact, many unique features of present-day India will be rendered incomprehensible without mapping the Mughal influences.
History cannot be taught by excluding important periods. The NCERT’s decision betrays the current regime’s bid to politicise education.
Yousuf Iqbal,Calcutta
Sir — Leaving out key milestones from history lessons in school will present students with an incomplete picture. The de-Islamicisation of India’s past has been one of the pet projects of the Narendra Modi government in its bid to establish India as a Hindu rashtra. This has been marked by repeated tweaks and deletions in the school syllabus.
Even though the director of the NCERT, Dinesh Prasad Saklani, has clarified that the chapters on Mughal history that have been dropped are covered in the Class VII syllabus, it is nothing but an attempt to hoodwink people about the government’s real intentions. History, good or bad, should be left to the students for interpretation.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,Faridabad
Gauntlet thrown
Sir — The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has dared the Union home minister, Amit Shah, to deliver on his promise of hanging rioters upside down after the state police arrested a man for inciting tensions during a Ram Navami procession in Howrah (“Mamata’s dare to home minister”, April 5). The arrestee hails from Bihar. Banerjee is rightin saying that the increasing violence in the state is being perpetrated by ‘outsiders’.
It is no secret that several riots in the past have been allegedly incited by the saffron party. It remains to be seen how Shah responds to the challenge.
Khokan Das,Calcutta
Sir — Mamata Banerjee’s challenge to Amit Shah about keeping his wordon punishing rioters isjustified (“Equal care”, April 6). Political leaders, especially ministers holding important portfolios like that of Shah, should think twice before making such callous statements. It has become a habit for Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to target a particular minority community in their speeches in order to appease the majority. This must stop.
M.C. Vijay Shanker,Chennai
Tremendous work
Sir — In yet another inspiring feat, the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully passed the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission test. This is part of Isro’s efforts to develop space shuttles that can travel to low earth orbits to deliver payloads and return to earth. The new carrier can thus be used for several launches. This will not only reduce expenditure butwill also minimise spacedebris, which poses a significant hazard to space missions.
M. Jeyaram,Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
Stay alert
Sir — According tolatest reports, cryptocurrency phishing scams have grown 40% in ayear. This is worrying.But the rise in cryptocurrency-related crimes has also been marked by a dipin traditional financial crimes.
In spite of warnings, people have been investing in virtual currencies in the hope of making quick gains. This leaves them vulnerable to scammers. It will prudent to transact in cryptocurrencies only after having all the relevant information.
C.K.D. Ramani Suresh,Chennai
Bright future
Sir — Over 500 students participated in the recently-held Jadavpur University Model United Nations 2023, where they discussed global issues as representatives of various countries at a mock-up of the international body. This shows that the younger generation is interested in bringing about real change. Such initiatives should be adopted by all educational institutions.
Sukhendu Bhattacharjee,Hooghly