Friends in need
Sir — Teamwork makes the dream work. It is heartening to see that the axiom holds true even in times of war. While the extended stay of the American astronaut, Frank Rubio, at the International Space Station is rightly grabbing headlines — this is the longest an American has ever been in space at a stretch — the efforts made by Russian scientists to send a replacement Soyuz capsule to rescue Rubio and two stranded Russian cosmonauts also deserve mention. The cooperation between the space agencies of the two unfriendly nations shows that most problems can be solved through mutual effort.
Prodipto Sen, Calcutta
Toxic hatred
Sir — It was sorrowful to read about a differently-abled Muslim youth being lynched near a temple in Delhi (“Muslim lynched ‘over prasad’”, Sept 28). Mob lynchings of Muslims have become common in New India. This episode is a grim reminder of the hollowness of the promise of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.
The reluctance of our political leaders, especially the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to speak out against such hateful attacks is also concerning. Constructive dialogue among members of all communities and awareness campaigns to spread communal harmony are the need of the hour.
Masud Alam, Murshidabad
Sir — Atrocities against Muslims by right-wing groups have become par for the course these days and, as such, are forgotten after a few days of outrage. In a recent case, a specially-abled Muslim man was tied to a pole and beaten to death simply for stealing some prasad from a stall near a temple. The matter needs to be dealt with seriously — the culprits should be given the strictest punishment.
K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam
Sir — Hate speeches by political leaders incite right-wing mobs to prey upon vulnerable and disadvantaged people from minority communities (“Heartless”,
Sept 29). One such victim was a differently-abled Muslim man in Delhi who was killed for stealing prasad. In February, Mohammad Faiyaz, a person with mental health issues, was lynched by a mob in Bihar’s Samastipur. Incidents of religious hatred have only increased in India in recent years.
Sujit De, Calcutta
Sir — The Bharatiya Janata Party clearly expects citizens to remain mum about the mob lynching of a differently-abled Muslim man in the national capital. After all, if the series of cold-blooded murders of numerous Muslims — from Mohammad Akhlaque to Pehlu Khan to Tabrez Ansari — failed to elicit any response from our so-called civil society, then why should the death of another Muslim man matter?
Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta
Powerful stand
Sir — Amidst a diplomatic standoff with Canada over the killing of the Khalistani terror accused, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India has exhorted its Western allies to not allow political convenience to determine responses to terrorism (“Two faces”, Sept 28). This tough stand should serve as a warning that New Delhi will no longer bow down to the West.
Khokan Das, Calcutta
Green fingers
Sir — The demise of the legendary Indian agricultural scientist, M.S. Swaminathan, is unfortunate for the country. The legacy he leaves behind cannot be expressed in a few words. His pioneering work in developing high-yielding varieties of wheat and
paddy was instrumental in ensuring India’s food security.
Vishal Mayur, Tumkur, Karnataka
