Monkey business
Sir — The mythical Hanuman had single-handedly set fire to the island nation of Sri Lanka, even as an army of monkeys had vanquished the mighty Ravana in the Ramayana. The lines between myth and reality have blurred in present-day Sri Lanka, which is being ravaged by toque macaques that caused damages worth $93.6 million in the first half of 2022. But in what is being decried as an adharma yudh, Sri Lanka is delivering 100,000 macaques to China on a plate — monkey brains are a delicacy there. Without population control measures, though, monkeys will continue to traumatise Lankans.
Manoj Sekhar Dutta,Calcutta
Delicate balance
Sir — The simmering tension in Manipur over the possibility of granting scheduled tribe status to the majority Meitei community is a matter of grave concern (“ST status demand backlash”, May 4). Following the Manipur High Court’s directive to the state government to consider the demand by the Meitei community for inclusion in the list of scheduled tribes, there have been protests from various minority tribal groups like the Kukis and the Nagas. This has led to an escalation in violence. The current crisis is a result of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s failure to anticipate the backlash. Listening to the demandsof both sides can helpbring about an amicable solution.
M. Jeyaram,Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
Sir — The BJP leadership in Manipur should be held responsible for the chaos in the state. If a government issues shoot-at-sight orders against its own citizenry, then the calls for the imposition of president’s rule are justified (“Manipur shoot-at-sight order”, May 5). Urgent action must be taken to restorenormalcy and keep the delicate balance in Manipur’s diverse society intact.
Bhagwan Thadani,Mumbai
Twisted tale
Sir — The prime minister, Narendra Modi, should be penalised for giving a religious twist to the Congress’s promise to ban organisations which promote hatred by accusing it of trying to imprison the worshippers of Hanuman (“Complaint on PM ‘Bajrang Bali’ chant”, May 5). Modi’s comments are aimed at polarising voters at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party is on the backfoot in Karnataka owing to charges of corruption.
S.K. Choudhury,Bengaluru
Sir — The Congress seems to be perpetually engaged in damage control. The Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, rushed to defend his son, Priyank Kharge, after the latter was served a notice by the Election Commission of India. Now, Veerappa Moily has clarified that no formal proposal to ban the Bajrang Dal has been discussed. Congress leaders should think before they speak.
K.V. Seetharamaiah,Bengaluru
Ruined ties
Sir — The consistentbreaches along the Lineof Actual Control by China have only worsened an already hostile relationship between Beijing and New Delhi (“Cold war”, May 4). The defence minister, Rajnath Singh, was right in bluntly blaming China’s repeated incursions for eroding “the entire basis of bilateral relations.” New Delhi must stick to its guns.
S.S. Paul,Nadia
Inspiring message
Sir — In a world increasingly devoid of hope and happiness, the teachings of Gautam Buddha and Guru Amar Das — the birth anniversary of both these spiritual leaders fell on May 5 this year — hold immense significance. Their message of compassion inspires us all to work towards a more equitable world.
Amarjeet Kumar,Hazaribagh, Jharkhand
