Living worth
Sir — A dead elephant is worth more than a living one, goes the adage. The same holds true for whales. Cetaceans have been hunted almost to extinction for their oil. But there are greater incentives to save whales. Whales bioaccumulate toxins and serve as vital indicators of what ails the planet. Further, whale poop acts as fertiliser for phytoplankton. And when they eventually die, their carcasses act as sizeable carbon sinks. Given the rate at which the Amazon rainforest — the earth’s lungs — is being burned down, perhaps a living whale is worth its weight in gold when it comes to reducing humanity’s carbon footprint.
Dhruv Khanna,Mumbai
Iron hand
Sir — The former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, was arrested a day after the army castigated him for alleging that a senior officer of the spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, had been involved in a plot to kill him (“Imran held, army under fire”, May 10). This comes more than a year after Khan was ousted from power following a no-confidence motion.
Over the past 13 months, Khan has turned from an embattled leader into a mass hero. His arrest thus prompted hundreds of his followers to clash with security forces (“7 killed in violent Pak protests”, May 11). This is deplorable. Khan’s in-swing and out-swing deliveries may have fetched him a good number of wickets in his cricketing career, but he seems to be increasingly failing as far as his political career is concerned.
C.K. Subramaniam,Navi Mumbai
Sir — The manner in which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief, Imran Khan, was arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court where he had appeared for a routine hearing is abominable. Khan was grabbed by the collar by the paramilitary rangers and whisked away into a prison van. This is demeaning for a former premier. Further, Khan’s arrest in the middle of an ongoing trial leads to the undermining of the judiciary.
Samir Das,Cooch Behar
Sir — It is unfortunate that Pakistan has reverted to its default system of the army running the affairs. Even after 75 years of independence, the country has been struggling to achieve a democratic system of governance. Its institutions have been systematically destabilised by prolonged afflictions, which have led to its economic ruin.
Pakistan’s army is ill-equipped to preside over a beleaguered economy. Moreover, the worsening relations between India and Pakistan have only played to the latter’s disadvantage. The government of Pakistan must realise this.
R. Narayanan,Navi Mumbai
Political target
Sir — The hounding of the Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen, by the Visva-Bharati authorities over his alleged occupation of 13 decimals of university land is unfortunate. The authorities even made condescending remarks about Sen. It is also disheartening that despite being the chancellor of the university, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been silent about the issue.
In the article, “Petty concern” (May 10), Prabhat Patnaik cites the example of the former French president, Charles de Gaulle, who refused to take any vindictive action against dissenters. It is thus apparent that Modi is “not cast in the de Gaulle mould!”
K. Nehru Patnaik,Visakhapatnam
Sir — In his article, “Petty concern”, Prabhat Patnaik fails to mention the audit observations by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on unauthorised occupations of the Visva-Bharati land. This shows that it is an administrative and accounting issue. Further, media trials and partisan comments on the issue are leading to polarisation and should be avoided.
Tapan Pal,South 24 Parganas
Think over
Sir — Underscoring the need for a strong Opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Subramanian Swamy, recently said that Mamata Banerjee should become the prime minister (“Ladies demur but Swamy springs ‘gusty’ Didi”, May 10). This might further motivate the West Bengal chief minister to aspire for the country’s leadership.
However, several leaders of the Trinamul Congress dispensation in Bengal are embroiled in corruption cases at the moment. Further, Banerjee has failed to attract investments for building the state’s infrastructure. She is also prone to making whimsical statements. Banerjee should thus work on her shortcomings before increasing her political ambitions.
Jahar Saha,Calcutta
Left out
Sir — The wicketkeeper-batsman, Wriddhiman Saha, has been overlooked by the selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India for the upcoming World Test Championship final in spite of his stunning performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League (“Selectors bet on Ishan, ignore Saha’s IPL run”,May 9). This raises concerns about the BCCI’s selection process.
M.N. Gupta,Hooghly
