Unsafe practice
Sir — Although they say that old habits die hard, facemasks, which had become an indispensable part of our attire at the height of the pandemic, have been quickly left behind. The declining number of infections along with the easing of masking rules means that most people have done away with wearing facemasks. In fact, the few responsible individuals who still wear masks are subjected to public scrutiny, so much so that they have to explain the reason for covering up. The benefits of masking cannot be emphasised enough. However, it seems that most do not care for such precautionary measures.
Megha Pareekh, Mumbai
Fundamental shift
Sir — The leader of the Aam Aadmi Party and chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, has appealed to the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to have the images of goddess Lakshmi and lord Ganesha printed on new currency notes in addition to that of Mahatma Gandhi. This comes ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat and seems to be a desperate attempt to appease the Hindu voters in the state (“Kejriwal coining a BJP clone for Gujarat”, Oct 27). The AAP leader has said that these Hindu deities are symbols of prosperity and therefore their images on currency notes will help revive India’s limping economy. Such statements not only undermine the scientific spirit but also go against the country’s secular ethos. It is shameful that political leaders can stoop so low in their quest for power.
M.C. Vijay Shankar, Chennai
Sir — Arvind Kejriwal’s suggestion to print images of Hindu deities on currency notes is an attempt to match the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hindutva appeal. This also points to the significant shift in the country’s political climate wherein most political parties are now adopting pro-Hindu credentials to garner votes instead of relying on their performance.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — The demand for images of Lakshmi and Ganesha to be printed on currency notes by Arvind Kejriwal is certain to alienate a significant population of the country that does not follow Hinduism. Instead of Hindu deities, images of icons such as Mother Teresa, Rabindranath Tagore, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and others could be printed on notes.
Tashi Baheti, Ujjain
Welcome news
Sir — The editorial, “Good news” (Oct 27), correctly assesses the strengths of and the sanctity accorded to print media. Although television and social media have emerged as predominant sources of information in recent times, they have often been accused of spreading misinformation, leading to mistrust among people. The newspaper industry has been in a crisis even before the pandemic owing to the paucity of advertisement revenue. Ironically, according to a recent survey, the reliability of newspapers is found to have increased in the last two years. This shows that there is still a considerable demand for in-depth analyses, opinion pieces, sound editorials and, most important, credible information, all of which are provided by the print media.
Sukhendu Bhattacharjee, Hooghly
Sir — It was heartening to learn that newspapers are the most credible source of news. Hopefully, print media will continue to uphold objectivity and veracity as opposed to the television media, which is increasingly becoming a hapless tool in the propaganda machinery of the ruling dispensation.
Anthony Henriques, Mumbai
Sir — There has been an increase in print readership from 16% to 38% in the past two years. The upward trend might be able to arrest the decline of the newspaper industry.
Dona Ghosal, Calcutta
