Tricky numbers
Sir — Many people suffer from math anxiety, which is experienced in the form of a paralysing fear of performing mathematical calculations usually in situations of high pressure. A study on math anxiety has now shown that the ailment has gendered roots. Girls across the world are more commonly afflicted by a fear of mathematics because it is treated as a marker of intelligence and failing at it can lead to loss of access to education in general. However, in boys, doing poorly in mathematics leads to a greater push towards academics in order to hone their skills. The logic behind patriarchal decisions seldom adds up.
Sohini Saha, Calcutta
Stating the truth
Sir — A special court has granted bail to Sanjay Raut, a member of Parliament, who has been behind bars since August 1 in a money-laundering case (“Witch-hunt, court says and grants bail to Raut”, Nov 10). The court picked apart the Enforcement Directorate’s allegations against Raut. This is a boost for Uddhav Thackeray and his faction of the Shiv Sena. The judge rightly said that labelling civil disputes as money laundering does not make them so.
M.R. Jayanthi, Coimbatore
Sir — The special judge, M.G. Deshpande, observed that the ED adopts a “pick-and-choose” approach to cases while granting bail to Sanjay Raut, who was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. This reinforces the perception that the Narendra Modi government weaponises investigative agencies by targeting its political opponents.
S.K. Choudhury, Bangalore
Collective fear
Sir — The observation made by the Supreme Court about the constant state of fear engendered by communal clashes is relevant (“Just right”, Nov 10). Even witnessing sectarian violence is a threat to living a meaningful life. Ill-feelings among various communities may have been festering since the Partition, but pluralism has certainly taken a hit recently owing to State-sponsored majoritarianism.
Raghunath Pramanik, Howrah
Tight spot
Sir — The fact that the attorney-general, R. Venkataramani, had to request an adjournment of the hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the demonetisation of banknotes announced in 2016 shows that the Narendra Modi government is on the backfoot (“2,192 days and still no answers on DeMo”, Nov 10). Justice B.V. Nagarathna expressed the court’s displeasure at the delay in filing an affidavit. Citizens deserve some answers about the rationale behind a decision that caused such widespread misery.
K. Nehru Patnaik, Vishakhapatnam
A new beginning
Sir — It was encouraging to read that D.Y. Chandrachud has taken over as the 50th Chief Justice of India. In his first speech after assuming office, he indicated that his priority will be to serve the common man who undergoes unfathomable agony because of the convoluted and longdrawn judicial process.
Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai
Futile war
Sir — It is shameful that Russia plans to draft children into the military to participate in its expansionist campaign against Ukraine. Now that the Russian army has started falling short of soldiers, the education minister, Sergey Kravtsov, announced that military training programmes will soon be made part of the school curriculum.
Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur
Sir — Russia should realise that it is fighting a losing battle. Truce with Ukraine is in its best interest.
Janki Pradhan, New Delhi
