Snack on this

Sir — The Indian prime minister never fails to sing praises of the mythical things that India has given the world. What he fails to notice are India’s many real contributions to the world, among which is the foxnut or makhana. The global market for foxnuts was $43.56 million in 2023. India grows 80% of the foxnuts consumed in the world and 90% of this is grown in Bihar. Bengal has a similar resource that remains not just forgotten but also demeaned as food of the impoverished — dhyap er khoi. Made from shapla seeds, this healthy snack can be grown in local ponds, not only earning revenue but perhaps also saving a few ponds from extinction.

Promit Bhattacharya,
Calcutta

Strategic visit

Sir — Six weeks after his visit to Moscow, the trip to Kyiv by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his meeting with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, were largely an exercise in balancing India’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war. Since Russia first invaded Ukraine in February 2022, India has maintained a uniquely distant position from the war. Unlike other international leaders visiting Kyiv since 2022, Modi did not meet injured soldiers and civilians. The two sides signed agreements on cooperation in agriculture, culture, medical products and assistance for community development projects. The trip was a disappointment and belied the ‘war rukwa dii’ narrative popularised by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Debalina Chatterjee,
Calcutta

Sir — Narendra Modi’s visit to Kyiv is the first by any Indian prime minister to Ukraine since that country became independent in 1991. It was thus being closely watched for signals of any major change in India’s non-aligned policy on the war. During his short visit, the two leaders discussed the conflict and, later, visited a memorial to children killed in the war. But India’s disapproval of Russia’s actions remains couched in the language of peace instead, all of cold comfort for Ukraine, which needs active allies.

Ankita Biswas,
Calcutta

Sir — One moment of great import during Narendra Modi’s trip to Ukraine was his visit to a memorial to children killed during the war at the National Museum of History of Ukraine, where the Indian prime minister solemnly stood with his arm around the Ukrainian president. This gesture of mourning is particularly meaningful when juxtaposed with Modi’s Moscow visit, which coincided with a Russian missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv. Modi also silenced his voluble critics by drawing Volodymyr Zelensky into a hug, just as he had done with Vladimir Putin.

N. Mahadevan,
Chennai

Sir — Narendra Modi is one of a handful of world leaders to have visited both Kyiv and Moscow. He was hence in a position to reach out to both with peace initiatives. As a leader of the Global South, India has a stake in ensuring that the impact of the war in Europe and sanctions on Russia do not continue to imperil the developing and the underdeveloped nations. Unfortunately, while Modi’s visit to Ukraine followed form it did not fundamentally move the needle on the global peace effort.

M. Jeyaram,
Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

Tussle for power

Sir — The former chief minister of Jharkhand, Champai Soren, is following in the footsteps of peers like Jitan Ram Manjhi by exiting the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. He was the trusted lieutenant who was hand-picked by the party supremo, Hemant Soren, to be his placeholder in his absence. That act of high trust — political gamble? — soon deteriorated into a mismatch of expectations of loyalty and rewards from both sides.

When Hemant Soren resigned as the chief minister in January before being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of corruption, Champai Soren took over the reins. It was a bold and decent move on the part of Hemant Soren to choose a party veteran instead of a family member. But a taste of power can be intoxicating. Clearly, Champai Soren has become too attached to the high chair in the state.

S. Kamat,
Mysuru

Sir — The JMM, like most parties in India, is controlled by one leader or family, and there is little room for the separate ambitions of individual leaders. Champai Soren himself has played second fiddle to Shibu Soren and then Hemant Soren for a long time. But being chief minister achieved a tipping point for him. External factors too may have played a role in his decision to leave the JMM. The Bharatiya Janata Party is pushing hard for a return in Jharkhand where assembly elections are due soon. Champai Soren, a veteran of tribal mobilisation in the state, can be a key player for the BJP’s strategy to fragment the tribal vote and consolidate the non-tribal vote in its favour while inciting resentment among the tribal communities against Muslims.

Birkha Khadka Duvarseli,
Siliguri

Parting shot

Sir — Security at the Indo-Bangladesh border has been tightened to prevent the smuggling of hilsa. The festive season will be a bland one for Bengalis.

Sourish Misra,
Calcutta