Misguided effort

Sir — Climate activists recently threw a can of soup over one of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers to protest against government inertia in protecting the earth. The painting was, fortunately, unharmed. One must ask how attacking one of the world’s most beloved paintings will gain public support, which is what is needed to bring real change. Moreover, targeting van Gogh, an impoverished man who was marginalised in his local community owing to his mental illness, will further alienate the protestors and their cause. While the need to protect the environment and garner attention for that cause cannot be overstated, there are better ways of doing this. A little girl did it simply by missing school to sit outside her country’s Parliament.

Sejal Shah, Calcutta

Sinking deeper

Sir — Instead of implementing pragmatic policies to lift the British economy out of the quagmire, the prime minister of Britain, Liz Truss, has embarked on a path that will exacerbate the country’s woes. After massive tax cuts sparked turmoil in the financial market, Truss was forced to sack the chancellor of the exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng. While Truss has rolled back a slew of contentious economic measures, the severity of the cost of living crisis that the United Kingdom finds itself in warrants a stringent policy framework that will ensure fiscal sustainability and preserve macroeconomic stability.

M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

Sir — The foundation for the political and economic troubles in Britain was laid when the nation voted to leave the European Union. Since 2016, six finance ministers and four prime ministers have tried to deal with the fallout of Brexit. The latest victim of this has been Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor of the exchequer who was fired by Liz Truss to save her own skin. The Tories may blame global inflation, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war for the present situation, but the truth is that leaving the European Union proved fatal for the British people and their economy. Brexit caused a 5.2% drop in the gross domestic product, a 13.7% fall in investment and a 13.6% dip in trade. Britain should immediately announce fresh elections and another referendum — the incoming government should ensure that Britain rejoins the European Union.

Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur

Sir — As the waters threaten to close over Liz Truss, one must hope that some of her policies live on. The impact of a policy on income distribution is not the only test of worth that can be imposed on a government. Economic institutions are seats of inertia and self-interest. Growth in the UK has been subjugated to the shoring up of national identity and other priorities since the Brexit referendum of 2016. The payroll tax rise announced this year was of apiece with a country that milks workers to spare asset owners. Poor legislations and other structural rigidities keep Britain poorer than it should be.

Jayanthi Subramaniam, Navi Mumbai

Equally dangerous

Sir — Shruti Kapila, a professor at Cambridge University and a perceptive chronicler of Indian politics, recently termed the Aam Aadmi Party a “lazy and guilt-free version of the BJP” in a column. Since its inception, the AAP has maintained strategic silence on some of the most burning issues in the country, allowing it to wade through the murky waters of the country’s politics with its convenient welfarism. The AAP’s silence at the resignation of its popular Dalit leader, Rajendra Pal Gautam, was telling. The party did not want to antagonise the upper castes in Gujarat before the upcoming assembly elections there for Dalits who form a minuscule 7% of the population in the state. The AAP is just like the BJP, but much less transparent.

Shovanlal Chakraborty, Calcutta

Mixed messages

Sir — The president of the United States of America, Joe Biden, has said that “Pakistan is one of the most dangerous nations in the world” as it has “nuclear weapons without cohesion”. It is ironic then that the same Biden administration has granted a $450 million package for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet, one of the delivery options for its nuclear weapons. Moreover, the US ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome, not only visited Pakistan-occupied Kashmir recently but also called it “Azad Jammu and Kashmir”, a term used by Islamabad. On the other hand, Biden also said that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, has an enormous array of problems which are very difficult to handle given Russian aggression. This is clearly an attempt to strengthen relations with China. This sort of mixed messaging can drive India into Russia’s embrace.

Sukhendu Bhattacharjee, Hooghly

Wrong medium

Sir — The Union home minister, Amit Shah, released textbooks in Hindi for MBBS students in Madhya Pradesh. The Centre’s move to make Hindi the medium of instruction in all technical and non-technical educational institutions smacks of linguistic hegemony and is fraught with dangerous consequences. By trying to impose Hindi on a diverse country, the National Democratic Alliance government is undermining the federal spirit of the Constitution. The imposition of Hindi would be a great disservice to the youth who have global aspirations. At a time when the world is becoming increasingly open, promoting English would help the majority of Indians to find jobs both inside and outside the country.

Khokan Das, Calcutta

Sir — Attempts to impose Hindi will not end well for the Central government. Only around 44% of the country’s population speaks Hindi. Can the Centre afford to antagonise the rest?

Tuhin Dolui, Calcutta