Love prop
Sir — Humans do not have the sole authority over novelty fashion. Animals, too, beautify themselves to attract suitable mates during courtship: for example, male flamingos daub pink-producing oil on their feathers, bowerbirds paint their houses whereas hermit crabs don the most attractive shells to entice potential partners. Significantly, recent research has revealed that a majority of these crustaceans have been encasing themselves in trash plastic cans and bottles instead of seashells before their mating ritual owing to the abundance of plastic debris in the marine ecosystem. Perhaps humans can also learn a thing or two about efficient recycling from animals, apart from their imaginative fashion sense.
Soumi Das, Calcutta
Another flip
Sir — The recent political churn in Bihar which culminated in a change of government but not the chief minister proved that there is never a dull moment in politics ("It's Nitish yet again. How does he do it?", Jan 29). After a bitter divorce from the National Democratic Alliance 18 months ago, Nitish Kumar resigned as the chief minister of the Grand Alliance and formed the government with the Bharatiya Janata Party. While there is no permanent foe or friend in politics, Kumar had asserted previously that he would prefer to die than join hands with the BJP. His contradictory move thus paints him as an unreliable leader who will keep swapping political partners as he deems fit.
The only explanation for the BJP agreeing to open its doors to Kumar is to prevent the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (United) alliance from winning the majority of votes in the crucial state in the Lok Sabha elections. However, the BJP seems to be keen on keeping Kumar as a marginal player within the alliance.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — Changing his political spots yet again, Nitish Kumar took the oath as chief minister of Bihar for the record ninth time on Sunday ("Did it again", Jan 29). This is his second somersault in two years, his fifth in over a decade. His latest switch seems to have stemmed from the existential crisis that Mandal politics is experiencing with the rise of mandir politics in India. Social justice as a political ideology has paled in comparison to aggressive Hindutva, which has been incorporating elements of Mandal politics. The leaders of the INDIA coalition must ponder these points before strategising to revive social justice.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
Sir — Amit Shah, the Union home minister, had asserted that Nitish Kumar would never be accepted in the BJP. Nitish Kumar, too, had been castigating the saffron party till even a fortnight ago. Their union thus shows that birds of a feather flock together. Hypocrisy has become an inalienable feature of Indian politics and is detrimental to the democratic framework. Steps should be taken to strengthen the democratic apparatus and check the disillusionment among voters.
Sudhir Kangutkar, Thane
Sir — Despite his opportunistic political decision-making and his penchant for betraying his allies, Nitish Kumar deserves credit for shrewdly navigating the turbulent space of Indian politics with a dexterity that most of his contemporaries lack. That Kumar, who two months ago took the initiative of stitching up an anti-BJP alliance, had no qualms about falling into the lap of the very forces that he had resolved to uproot, speaks volumes about his moral bankruptcy and lack of political ethics.
Developments within the INDIA bloc — the nomination of Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairperson of the alliance — and the absence of consensus over the selection of the convenor influenced Kumar's somersault.
S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru
Sir — With Nitish Kumar ditching the INDIA grouping and joining the NDA, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have successfully removed a major obstacle in their path. This will positively impact their chances of winning the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The coming together of all the Opposition leaders under one umbrella posed a significant threat to the NDA's electoral prospects. It remains to be seen whether the Opposition alliance recovers from this fatal blow.
Piyush Somani, Guwahati
Sir — Defections have become commonplace in Indian politics. Nitish Kumar has betrayed the people of Bihar who had voted for him on the basis of his initial opposition to the NDA's misgovernance.
The anti-defection law should be re-evaluated and made more stringent to prevent politicians from using chameleon-like tactics to make a mockery of the people's faith in the democratic system.
Sneha Maji, Calcutta
Sir — Nitish Kumar has proved, yet again, that he is nothing but a megalomaniac politician who will adopt any means possible to stay in power. The people of Bihar, who have been at the receiving end of Kumar's ill-motivated somersaulting, must teach him a lesson.
The shameless manoeuvring by the BJP and Kumar shows that more such clandestine activities are in store in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai
Tool for power
Sir — The article, "Book of revelations" (Jan 25), by Sushant Singh raises concerns about the increased use of the armed forces for electoral gains by the Centre. The Bharatiya Janata Party has done little to improve the ground situation for the soldiers while the achievements of the army are often hijacked by the saffron regime to rouse nationalist sentiments. The Agnipath scheme, for instance, is the government's bid to transform the armed forces into its band of mercenaries.
Agnishwar Bhattacharya, Hooghly
