Divine intervention

Sir — Santa Claus is not the only one inundated with secret wishes once a year. But unlike Santa Claus, the old and the young alike make demands of the goddess, Durga, for things that their hearts desire. Take, for instance, the residents of Hingalganj, North 24 Parganas. Frustrated with the lack of employment opportunities available to them and the termination of their jobs under the 100-day employment scheme due to the dearth of funds, the locals turned to the visiting deity for help. But they were also considerate about the goddess’ predicament — they decided to build a Durga idol with a hundred hands so that she had 90 extra arms to fulfil their wishes. If only it were as easy to remould the elected representatives into granting basic provisions to the electorate.

Sourav Sinha, Calcutta

Too risky

Sir — The death of a young Agniveer recruit deployed at the treacherous Siachen glacier region has sparked fresh dispute about the balance of risk and reward in the Agnipath scheme (“2nd Agniveer death revives debate”, Oct 23). Launched in 2022, the venture has drawn sharp criticism, particularly from veterans in the armed forces, for the lack of pension and gratuity benefits offered to the families of soldiers. Considering the wide wealth disparity in India, the unavailability of social securities in this scheme will push young aspirants from poorer backgrounds further away from the armed forces. The government should consider re-evaluating the incentives offered under the Agnipath scheme.

Aayman Anwar Ali, Calcutta

Sir — The death of the Agniveer soldier, Gawate Akshay Laxman, in the line of duty at the Siachen glacier is a result of the hurried implementation of a faulty scheme by the Centre. How was such a young recruit deployed in such a treacherous terrain with the full knowledge that his family would not receive any pension benefit if he was martyred? His death is tantamount to State-sponsored murder.

Arun Gupta, Calcutta

Crisis looms

Sir — More than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed so far in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Yet, Israel has turned down pleas for a ceasefire. Worse, it seems to be readying its troops for a ground invasion of the besieged enclave. The only delay so far seems to be owing to behind-the-scenes negotiations for hostages still held by Hamas — they have yielded results, with Hamas releasing a few hostages in recent days. The double standards of the United States of America have been exposed, yet again, owing to its simultaneous support for Ukraine, a victim, and Israel, an aggressor. However, it is heartening that the US has urged Israel to delay a ground assault in order to extract more of its hostages (“Delay Gaza invasion, urges US”, Oct 24). If further bloodshed is to be avoided, the US must prevail upon Israel to call off its plan of a full-scale invasion of Gaza.

G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Sir — Just as the world was waiting apprehensively for news about a ground invasion of Gaza, a ray of hope appeared in the form of news that a couple of American hostages have been freed by Hamas in an arrangement brokered by the government of Qatar. Diplomatic negotiations are rarely made public. It is thus unclear why the Israeli armed forces have not kicked off their ground assault yet. Perhaps it is the US that has persuaded its ally to hold off. Nevertheless, it is imperative that the warring factions end the conflict and seek peace.

Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur

Sir — Hamas’ decision to release two Israeli hostages, just days after the release of two American hostages, is a gesture in good faith and may signal its intention to end the conflict. If Israel makes iron-clad assurances that it will stop bombing Gaza, the release of the hostages can be secured easily. The peacekeeping forces of the United Nations should be stationed at the Gaza Strip to ensure that there are no terrorist camps and no stockpiling of weapons.

P.V. Madhu Nivriti, Secunderabad

Double standards

Sir — For several years, the Jawaharlal Nehru University administration had prohibited rallies near its administrative building. Student activists had been penalised for congregating in that area. But members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have now been allowed to march to the administrative block and hold a meeting there (“RSS marks two firsts at JNU”, Oct 24). The current regime has sought to negate the very idea of dissent in one of the country’s premier universities. Its preferential treatment towards right-wing activists has been exposed. The JNU campus has been turned into a battleground between the red and the saffron brigades.

S.S. Paul, Nadia

Dark horse

Sir — The Afghan cricket team has disrupted all calculations by cricket pundits in this World Cup. Its victory over Pakistan is another historic upset. The all-round performances could see them qualify for the knockout stages. On the other hand, Pakistan’s bowling line-up has let them down and, now, they are in serious danger of falling behind in the points tally.

H.K. Isha’ati, Mumbai

Death of an icon

Sir — Sir Bobby Charlton was arguably England’s greatest footballer. His artistic genius and determination inspired his nation to its only World Cup win in 1966. He then led Manchester United to win the European Cup two years later. His mental fortitude in overcoming the loss of his teammates in the Munich air disaster must be lauded. His death is an irreparable loss to English football.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad