The real voice

Sir — It is hard to separate some actors from the voices of the playback singers whose songs they lip-sync to: for example, Shammi Kapoor became synonymous with the voice of Mohammed Rafi. But playback singers, unfortunately, have not enjoyed as much popularity as the stars. With the increased use of auto-tune, even non-singers are doing playback these days. It is thus heartening that the playback singers of “Naatu Naatu” — it became the first Indian song to win the Oscar — got to perform the song during the event. Hopefully this will give playback singers incentives to hone their craft.

Dhruv Khanna, Mumbai

Stop the hate

Sir — The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has called for the repealing of the anti-conversion laws promulgated by various state governments in India, saying such legislations are in dissonance with the international standard of human rights (“Conversion laws alarm US panel”, Mar 15). This is welcome. The countries that are signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including India, should abide by the regulations for ensuring the dignity of living (“Hard look”, Mar 16). However, international laws are mostly all-encompassing in nature and, consequently, may be adopted by certain countries more willingly than others. International treaties should thus be enacted keeping local sentiments in mind.

Ashok Kumar Ghosh, Calcutta

Sir — The Indian diasporas should refrain from being sectarian. India has always been a pluralist society that honours the freedom to practice any religion to its people. Anticonversion laws adversely affect this image of India. The diasporas should be a reflection of the Indian ethos of liberalism and religious tolerance.

H.N. Ramakrishna, Bengaluru

Cautionary steps

Sir — An intelligence report in the United States of America has warned of military conflicts between India and Pakistan and between India and China. This is worrying. But India needs to approach the situation with practicality (“Crystal ball”, Mar 15). India does not yet have the military strength to engage its two nuclear-armed neighbours, one of them an emerging superpower, in a two-front war. Past experiences have shown that the US cannot be India’s most trusted ally. At the same time, expecting support from Russia will not be feasible as the latter has been teaming up with China to counter the US in the Ukraine war. Therefore, in any eventuality, India will find itself alone. It should thus exercise caution and do what it takes to prevent any escalation of conflict.

Aranya Sanyal, Siliguri

Unjust plea

Sir — The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, appealed to the judiciary that it should not take away jobs at the drop of a hat and should return the jobs to those whose services have been terminated in government-aided schools on account of irregularities in appointment (“CM in jobs appeal to judiciary”, Mar 15). Banerjee’s plea can be interpreted as seeking judicial endorsement of corrupt practices which is disconcerting. Additionally, the appeal made by the chief minister amounts to interference in judicial proceedings. This makes her liable for contempt of court. Several Trinamul Congress leaders stand accused in the recruitment scam, which has denied jobs to thousands of deserving candidates. In spite of that, no word of empathy from the chief minister for these candidates betrays her lack of fairness.

S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru

Sir — It was disheartening to see the chief minister batting for those who had bribed their way in through the teacher recruitment scam. Such fraudulently appointed teachers mar the future of the students, putting the integrity of the state’s education system in jeopardy. Such irregularities in the government recruitment system will also make candidates feel less confident about appearing for public exams.

Abhijit Chakraborty, Howrah

Right step

Sir — The Supreme Court has rightly dismissed a curative petition filed by the Central government seeking to increase the amount of compensation for the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy (“Bhopal gas tragedy extra cash onus on govt: SC”, Mar 15). As pointed out by the apex court, it was indeed the government’s failure to assess the real magnitude of losses incurred as a result of the industrial accident. Sadly, a part of the compensation, amounting to a sum of 50 crore rupees, is yet to be disbursed.

Khokan Das, Calcutta

Parting shot

Sir — It was heartening to learn that the 2026 Fifa World Cup will have 104 matches, instead of the traditional 64 games, due to the expansion of the format. This is good news for fans who wait for the global tournament for four years.

Sourish Misra, Calcutta