All that glitters

Sir — India saw its first ‘sologamy’ when Kshama Bindu, a woman from Baroda, married herself, with traditional wedding rituals like mehendi and haldi. While none can fault her commitment to love herself above all others for a lifetime, one also cannot help wonder why she needed to get married for this. Apparently, Bindu always wanted to be part of elaborate wedding rituals. Is an Instagram-worthy wedding all that a marriage is about? Could it be that highly-publicised celebrity weddings and lavish Bollywood films have reduced marriages to a mere social event?

Anindita Ghosh, Calcutta

Plug the gaps

Sir — The prime minister, Narendra Modi, has announced that the government will recruit 10 lakh personnel in the next 18 months (“10 lakh in 18 months: Unemployed do the math”, June 15). This is a step in the right direction. Unemployment had been soaring in the country even before the pandemic. But creating job opportunities requires a robust economy. The government alone cannot solve the unemployment problem. It can, however, create an environment which promotes sustainable growth.

D.V.G. Sankararao, Nellimarla, Andhra Pradesh

Sir — The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy recently conceded that more than half of the 900 million Indians of legal working age — roughly the population of the United States of America and Russia combined — are not looking for a job at all. What, one wonders, does the prime minister intend to do about these candidates? Moreover, his latest employment plan has a serious flaw. He is planning to induct 10 lakh recruits into government jobs. How does he propose to create these jobs? Could it be that many of these aspirants — if they get jobs at all — will be given posts that are not commensurate with their educational qualifications? He must answer these questions.

Shreya Basu, Gurgaon

Sir — The government must tackle unemployment on a war-footing. The prime minister’s announcement is thus heartening. Latest data show that there were 8.86 lakh vacant jobs among all Central government civilian posts as of March 2020. This is far from enough, especially if the economy continues to remain distressed.

Aditya Mukherjee, Calcutta

Lawless land

Sir — The law and order situation in Kerala has deteriorated drastically. Several Congress offices in the state were attacked. This led to retaliatory attacks on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) office. Many have been injured as political rivalry continues to wreak havoc in the state. The police are clearly unable to control the situation. It is time the party leadership stepped in and ensured a cessation of hostilities.

K.A. Solaman, Alappuzha, Kerala

Cash cow

Sir — The multi-billion-dollar auction of the media rights of the Indian Premier League makes it the second-most expensive league on a per-match basis in the world. It is surprising that a domestic tournament of a sport played professionally in just about a dozen countries has superseded the English Premier League. The windfall from selling the media rights of the IPL can help the Board of Control for Cricket in India strengthen the sport in the country. The money should go towards funding more training centres.

Gregory Fernandes, Mumbai Parting shot

Sir — Canada will become the first country to have a printed warning on every cigarette. Health warnings on individual tobacco products will help those who buy loose cigarettes instead of the whole packet.

Khushbu Khatri, Ujjain