Natural justice
Sir — Humans have made the planet inhospitable for other species. Take, for example, the practice of installing sharp metal spikes on the ledges of buildings and rooftops to scare away birds and deter them from alighting on them or building nests. A recent discovery indicates that the avians have now turned the tables on this human design. Crows and magpies in many European countries have been found to have constructed their nests with the very metal spikes that are used to scare them off — the spikes bolster the nests and also fortify them against predators. This should serve as a reminder to the Homo sapiens that no matter what tricks they try, nature will always find a way to outsmart them.
Shriya Khanna,Ahmedabad
Smoke signal
Sir — The image of a giant cloud of yellow smoke billowing upwards and spreading like a cloud — often seen in newspaper articles, textbooks or magazines — inevitably brings to mind a nuclear explosion — be it in Japan in 1945 or in Pokhran in 1998. Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s column, “That mushroom cloud” (July 23), meditates upon the devastation thata nuclear weapon can cause to human civilisation. The author mentions two instances of nuclear testing byIndia but fails to commenton how these tests fuelleda nuclear arms race between New Delhi and Islamabad, complicating ties between the two neighbours.
Nuclear testings cause irreversible damage tothe environment. Unfortunately, warnings against the nuclear pile-up have mostly gone unheeded.The columnist rightly rues the dearth of sane voices talking about the rise of nuclear threats around the world.
Sukhendu Bhattacharjee,Hooghly
Sir — At a time when India has been celebrating the silver jubilee of Pokhran II, Russia and Ukraine have been threatening each other with nuclear weapons. The world has witnessed the catastrophic impacts of nuclear explosions. Yet, countries are still competing with each other to strengthen their nuclear arsenals.
India attempting a ‘Pokhran III’ in the name of ‘national security’. It is high time that all countries take a vow of disarmament to ensure world peace.
Sneha Maji,Calcutta
Grey silence
Sir — The communal violence in Manipur is a result of governmental failure both in the state and at the Centre where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power (“Biren must go. But why Modi can’t even ask him to practice rajdharma”, July 24). The prime minister’s display of anger on the 79th day after the violence started in Manipur should be directed at the chief minister, N. Biren Singh, and the Union home minister, Amit Shah. One also wonders what Modi has to say about the futility of the peace committee that was formed by Shah to negotiate between the warring communities.
S.S. Paul,Nadia
Sir — Ramachandra Guha’s article, “Biren must go. But why Modi can’t even ask him to practise rajdharma” (July 24), argues that the prime minister has never practised what he preaches. It is useless to hope for morality and pragmatism from an authoritarian government. The divisive policies of the ruling dispensation have fragmented the country. Yet, the BJP’s brute electoral majority ensures that it continues to employ such policies with impunity.
Monidipa Mitra,Calcutta
Sir — The report, “It took 79 days for pain and shame to pierce 56-inch skin” (July 21), and the graphic of a crocodile shedding tears on the front page of The Telegraph were unique and exemplary. They rightly highlighted the irony of the prime minister breaking his silence on the Manipur crisis on the 79th day after it started and the fact that his statement strategically omitted any responsibility of the government with regard to the crisis.
Jahar Saha,Calcutta
Douse the flames
Sir — Rhodes, an island in Greece, is grappling with raging forest fires, leading to the evacuation of thousands of people (“19,000 flee wildfire on Greek island”, July 24). The fires were caused by a severe heat wave, which saw temperatures soaring up to 45° Celsius across the country.
The vagaries of climate change are increasingly being felt across the globe. But instead of taking urgent action, world leaders have been pushing back deadlines on cutting down emissions.
Jang Bahadur Singh,Jamshedpur
Mr Clean
Sir — Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, has become India’s second-longest-serving chief minister, surpassing the record of Jyoti Basu, the former chief minister of West Bengal. Patnaik has been in office for 23 years and 140 days now.
Patnaik was seen as an accidental politician at the beginning of his career but, soon, he proved his mettle with his no-nonsense, business-like politics. He deserves praise for maintaining a clean image throughout his political career and for remaining equidistant from both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
D.V.G. Sankara Rao,Andhra Pradesh
Historic milestone
Sir — Virat Kohli has achieved the historic milestone of playing his 500th international match in the ongoing Test against West Indies (“‘Charged up’ Kohli finds his rhythm”, July 23). With this, Kohli has joined an elite group of 10 cricketers. He is also the fourth Indian player to play 500 international matches. What made his accomplishment even more remarkable was the fact that he became the first player ever to score a century in his 500th international match.
Md. Imdadullah,Hyderabad
