Elusive logic
Sir — Just as one should not judge a book by its cover, one cannot take the names of dishes listed on a menu card at face value. Michael Berkheime did not know this in 2016 when he ordered boneless chicken wings at a restaurant in Ohio. It turned out that the ‘boneless’ wings had bones in them which got stuck in his throat and he had to undergo two surgeries. In a lawsuit filed by Berkeime, the Ohio court has recently ruled in favour of the restaurant, saying that ‘boneless chicken wings’ can contain bones as it refers to a cooking style. But would not a ‘boneless cooking style’ mean cooking without the bones? Perhaps it is futile to expect logic from a nation where menus have items like ‘chai tea’ and ‘naan bread’.
Deepak Anand, Delhi
Fragile structure
Sir — In an unfortunate incident, three civil service aspirants drowned in the basement library of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, a premier coaching centre in New Delhi (“Students drown in ‘illegal’ library”, July 29). Several factors — civic apathy, disregard for safety norms, poor maintenance, and the greed of the institute’s owners — are responsible for the deaths.
Coaching centres have mushroomed across India owing to their significance in preparing for competitive examinations. Candidates pay exorbitant amounts to get admission in these centres. Despite such coaching, the high rate of unemployment and the resultant competition are making government jobs more elusive.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — The examination by the Union Public Service Commission is one of the toughest. Parents from impoverished backgrounds sell their land or borrow money to send their wards to the UPSC coaching centres. The death of three civil service aspirants after being trapped in the flooded basement of a coaching institute in Old Rajinder Nagar is thus heartbreaking. Unsurprisingly, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party have begun a blame game over the incident. They must understand the gravity of the situation and act accordingly.
Dimple Wadhawan, Kanpur
Sir — It has come to light that Rau’s IAS Study Circle had permission from the civic authorities to use its basement as a storage and parking space. Instead, it set up an unauthorised library in that space. Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar is home to many coaching centres, which are poorly managed and lack adequate safety measures. The nation has lost three bright minds. Accountability needs to be fixed and strict action taken against the guilty.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
Dirty work
Sir — At least 43 sanitation workers have lost their lives in the past five months while cleaning septic tanks and sewers (“Road to dirty death: 43 lives in six months”, July 28). These workers hail from socio-economically backward sections and are forced to perform this dehumanising task. The lack of safety measures is a major reason behind the high death toll. The meagre funds allocated in the budget to prevent manual scavenging reflect the government’s apathy.
Aayman Anwar Ali, Calcutta
Sir — It is shameful that manual scavenging is still prevalent in India despite being declared a punishable offence under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The inertia of the government to ensure a strict implementation of this Act encourages its flagrant violations. Strangely, nobody has been convicted under the Act so far.
Jahar Saha, Calcutta
Worst sufferers
Sir — Women are the worst sufferers in conflicts (“Woman, justice, and memory”, July 27). Little has changed since the ancient times when women used to be the spoils of war. The perception that women should be controlled or else they would bring dishonour to the family still persists. A few instances of women breaking the glass ceiling are not enough to change this prejudical mindset.
Anthony Henriques, Mumbai
Lust for office
Sir — Men who have served in top positions in organisations fail to set aside their individual ambitions, ego and seniority to make way for younger people. In his column, “Retirement blues” (July 27), Ramachandra Guha cites several instances to support this argument. He is right in criticising old men’s desire to stay on in power and exercise authority out of pomposity or an addiction to influence even when they are unable to properly serve owing to diminishing mental and physical abilities.
Although Guha’s reasoning carries merit, it may not be applicable in all cases. There are instances where the running of a system depends more on the experience of the elderly than the exuberance of youth.
Sukhendu Bhattacharjee, Hooghly
People matter
Sir — India has the demographic advantage of a relatively young population. But this does not necessarily translate to a demographic dividend (“Up and down”, July 26). India needs to invest massively in skill development if it is to benefit from its young workforce.
H.N. Ramakrishna, Bengaluru
Sir — The political rhetoric in India advocates population control based on a biased assumption that the population of Muslims is growing at a faster rate than that of Hindus. The census should be conducted urgently to dispel such a misconception. Blaming the minorities for India’s burgeoning population highlights the ruling dispensation’s strategy to gain electoral dividends through polarisation.
Vijay Singh Adhikari, Nainital
