Honesty counts
Sir — It is very common for job applicants to inflate their past work experiences and embellish their professional qualifications on resumes in order to stand out in a highly competitive environment. In fact, reports show that in the United States of America the number of people looking to lie on resumes has increased by nearly 20% from 2022 to 2023. But a recent job applicant in a Bengaluru-based company stood out for being candid. When asked to describe the reasons that make one a good fit for the role, the applicant wrote that he desperately needed the job so that he could marry his childhood sweetheart. While the answer may not say anything about his professional skills, he might have scored brownie points with the hiring manager for his honesty.
Niket Lakhani, Gurgaon
Uninvited guest
Sir — While addressing an outreach session on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, stated that the Lok Sabha election results, which gave him a historic third term in power, were a victory for democracy. Modi seems to have conveniently forgotten the fact that he was given a stern warning by the Indian electorate — the Bharatiya Janata Party lost majority in the Lok Sabha for the first time in 10 years and had to depend on its allies to form the government.
The results highlighted that an autocratic style of governance, fostering religious polarisation and the suppression of the Opposition, all of which the Modi government has done, will not be taken lightly by the voters. This should be a lesson for other democracies in the world.
M.C. Vijay Shankar, Chennai
Sir — The Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Subramanian Swamy, has raised a pertinent question: why did Narendra Modi speak at the G7 proceedings when he was not invited to do so? India is not a part of the G7. Modi’s presence at the Summit, Swamy argues, was an attempt to “bluff” Indians. The trip was an exercise in self-aggrandisement as Modi wanted to bask in the glory of the results of the general elections.
Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai
Sir — In “Guest appearance” (June 16), Mukul Kesavan ponders whether India should even have been at the G7 Summit. Narendra Modi’s visit to the summit is being touted as an achievement. But this was no different from the many foreign trips that he has made over the years that failed to achieve meaningful bilateral cooperation. It reminded me of the old Hindi proverb, “Begani shaadi mein Abdullah deewana” (being overtly involved in someone else’s affair). Modi should have skipped the summit and focused on crises at home.
Avinash Godboley, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh
Vendetta politics
Sir — The lieutenant-governor of Delhi, V.K. Saxena, has granted the Delhi Police sanction to prosecute Arundhati Roy under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for comments she made at a seminar in 2010 that allegedly promoted Kashmiri separatism. This indicates that the newly sworn-in Narendra Modi government is keen on continuing with its old ways of suppressing dissent and incarcerating activists, public intellectuals, academics and journalists. The bid to prosecute Roy in a 14-year-old case is a glaring misuse of power.
As a citizen of a democratic country, Roy is entitled to freely express her views. Roy has been a staunch critic of the policies of the ruling dispensation. The decision to prosecute her is thus an instance of vendetta politics.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — The prosecution sanction against Arundhati Roy and the Kashmir-based academician, Sheikh Showkat Hussain, under the stringent provisions of the UAPA ignites an old debate about how the law has been methodically used by the government to silence critics. One wonders whether the lieutenant-governor was provided with adequate evidence against Roy and Hussain to arrive at his decision.
S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru
Inherent flaws
Sir — Around 90 countries participated in a summit in Lucerne, Switzerland, last week to end the Russia-Ukraine war (“Drums of peace”, June 15). This is a welcome step. However, Russia, the aggressor in the conflict, and its key ally, China, were not part of the summit. Any peace resolution adopted at the meeting will thus not be binding on them.
In another case, a ceasefire backed by the United States of America to ensure peace in Gaza has been accepted by both Israel and Hamas. But with the Israeli leaders stipulating a rider — Tel Aviv will not stop the war until the Palestinian armed group is obliterated — the deal is destined for failure. These have stoked misgivings about the success of such collective global efforts.
Sanjit Ghatak, South 24 Parganas
Sir — The editorial, “Drums of peace”, expressed pessimism over the sincerity of the recent global initiatives for restoring peace in strife-torn Gaza and Ukraine. In fact, the mediators among the warring factions have been acting on their vested interests, making it difficult to achieve peace. For instance, the US and the West are serving their own strategic interests by supplying arms to Ukraine which is, in turn, boosting their domestic economies. The world will continue to be marred by perennial conflicts with such half-hearted attempts at peace.
Ardhendu Chakraborty, Calcutta
Sir — “Drums of peace” exposed the farce that was the Ukraine peace summit. A peace treaty is not possible without the presence of both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky at the negotiation table. Superpowers being engaged in the arms race is also hindering peace.
Brij Bhushan Goyal, Ludhiana
