Keep out
Sir — Social media influencers can often be their own worst enemy. Such is the menace they cause in the quest for content that the picturesque town of Pomfret in Vermont shut off one of its prettiest spots to visitors recently. Influencers anxious to take pictures of Sleepy Hollow Farm with its lush autumnal foliage and tourists inspired by them flocked to Pomfret in hordes, creating a nuisance and annoying residents to the extent that they closed the roads leading to the farm to non-residents during the peak of fall. While similar measures must be tempting for locals of many tourist spots in India, it is unlikely that the government will allow the barring of influencers and unruly tourists and lose out on the revenue generated by tourism.
Sushmita Mallick, Calcutta
False concern
Sir — Within weeks of the fall of the Sheikh Hasina Wazed-led Awami League government on August 5, there had been at least 205 incidents of attacks on Hindus in 52 districts of Bangladesh. Hindu American groups have thus applauded the Republican presidential nominee and former president, Donald Trump, for promising to protect the rights of Hindus from what he called the “anti-religion agenda of the radical left”, including in Bangladesh (“New protectors of Hindus: Trump in Bangla armour”, Nov 2). Trump’s message ahead of the presidential election is seen as a way of garnering Hindu votes in the United States of America, which currently has the seventh-largest Hindu population in the world.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
Sir — Worrying about Hindus in Bangladesh will not help Donald Trump win the presidential election in America. He should focus on issues in his own country.
Murtaza Ahmad, Calcutta
Sir — It seems that a Hindu rashtra will be established with help from none other than Donald Trump. Clearly, catering to regressive religious sentiments takesprecedence over educationor economic developmentfor politicians.
Asim Boral, Calcutta
Sir — Pledging to protect the Hindu minority in Bangladesh is the first time that Donald Trump has addressed the crisis in that country. He also accused the incumbent US president,Joe Biden, and the vice-president and Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, of ignoring the plight of Hindus both in America and globally. Trump further promised to strengthen the US’s ties with India. Farfrom being a reflection of his love for Hindus or other minorities, this is merely a political stunt. All Trump cares about is winning Hindu votes given that this community comprises a significant part of America’s population. We should not forget Trump’s discriminatory stance towards immigrants — Hindus in America would fall in this category — whom he referred to as “garbage” even recently.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad
Sharp intellect
Sir — The death of the prominent economist and chairman of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Bibek Debroy, at the age of 69 is saddening (“Economist & PM adviser no more”, Nov 2). His writings on the Indian economy, governance and railways were responsible for shaping the current Indian intellectual landscape.
Jayanta Datta, Hooghly
Sir — Although Bibek Debroy will primarily be remembered as an excellent economist, his passions ranged from translating Sanskrit texts to teaching chess to children from the poorer sections of society. His contributions to legaland railways reforms in India have benefitted many.
Bal Govind, Noida
Sir — Bibek Debroy understood India’s cultural and social milieu which helped him shape economic policies that suited local conditions. As an economist, he took a reformist approach and advocated for a market-led economy that would dismantle old and inefficient economic structures. He was one of the architects of Narendra Modi’s vision of Amrit Kaal, an aspirational plan for a prosperous and self-reliant India by 2047.
Khokan Das, Calcutta
Sir — From heading the PM-EAC to being an integral part of the erstwhile Planning Commission and then the NITI Aayog, Bibek Debroy has left an indelible mark on the Indian economy and society. His intellectual contributions to various national newspapers in which he had columns have helped readers shape their opinions on India’s economic development.
Kirti Wadhawan, Kanpur
Grave crisis
Sir — The secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, has reiterated that increasing heat levels are killing people, weakening economies and increasing inequality. The UN has also warned in a recent report that if the current environmental commitments for 2030 are not fulfilled and nations continue on their current paths, it will lead to a temperature rise of up to 3.1°Celsius. While the common man has been bearing the brunt of climate change, world leaders continue to pay lip service at the annual climate change conference of the UN known as the Conference of Parties and do nothing to change ground realities. The 29th CoP will be held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11-22. But these conferences have clearly achieved little as is evident from the disastrous effects of climate change around us.
Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur
Sir — Recent data on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change and their adverse impact on health underline the importance of the upcoming CoP-29 in Baku. Existing regulations will only slightly reduce emissions. The time for vague promises is over.
Anshu Bharti, Begusarai, Bihar
