Gift with care

Sir — Everyone likes gifts, especially when they come from loved ones. Earlier, gifting fresh, seasonal fruits was common — in fact, I still remember when my relatives used to bring me oranges and apples every time they came to visit. But with time, these began to be replaced with purchased goodies like chocolates and potato chips — even products that are not necessarily good for health. This has likely been caused by the influence of advertisements. The tradition of putting thought into gifts has become a thing of the past. Perhaps it is time we started caring more about the gifts we give.

Noopur Baruah,
Tezpur

Begin again

Sir — As we begin a new year, we must resolve to strengthen our democratic traditions, improve educational institutions and ensure that people have access to adequate and nutritious food. The widening economic divide as well as the Chinese incursion along the Line of Actual Control are matters of concern. India will hopefully plug some of these gaps this year.

R. Narayanan,
Navi Mumbai

Sir — The end of the year is a good time to look back and reflect on our missteps. We must refrain from repeating our mistakes in the new year.

Jubel D’Cruz,
Mumbai

Sir — The Covid-19 pandemic has driven home the importance of taking care of ourselves. We must prioritize our health this year.

Rajarshi Basu,
Calcutta

Steady decline

Sir — The editorial, “On the wane” (Dec 29), is right to say that India’s soft power has taken a hit. The growing attacks on minority communities and arrests under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as well as the sedition law have affected the goodwill of the nation. The prime minister must introspect about the situation.

K. Nehru Patnaik,
Visakhapatnam

Strange bait

Sir — The Bharatiya Janata Party state president of Andhra Pradesh, Somu Veerraju, has promised that people will be able to buy quality alcohol for around
Rs 70 if his party receives one crore votes in the 2024 state assembly elections. At a time when people are struggling to make ends meet, such declarations are utterly insensitive. Politicians must think before they speak.

Raghunath Pramanik,
Howrah

Sir — It is ludicrous that the BJP is promising cheap alcohol to people in exchange for votes.

Priyadarshini Nair,
Hyderabad

Shameful turn

Sir — An invitation for counselling on sexual harassment put up by the internal complaints committee of Jawaharlal Nehru University caused outrage for stating that “[g]irls are supposed to know how to draw a tangible line between them and their male friends”. It is a shame that the official body of a university deemed it fit to lay the blame on women.

Rakhi Roy,
Calcutta

Cause for concern

Sir — Jasprit Bumrah, a fast bowler in the Indian men’s cricket team, injured his foot on the third day of the first Test match against South Africa at Centurion. It is hoped that the injury will not affect Bumrah’s performance for the rest of the tour.

M.N. Gupta,
Bokaro

Parting shot

Sir — The art of cartooning is very much alive. But political cartoonists are often persecuted by the authorities or religious leaders. Cartoons cut across barriers of language and culture. This spirit of creativity must be celebrated.

C.K. Subramaniam,
Navi Mumbai