Controversial stance

Sir — In the last episode of Frozen Planet II, David Attenborough left viewers with a solemn plea: “If we can do something about it, then do it.” The naturalist is a beloved figure for his documentation of wildlife. However, Attenborough’s repeated insistence on overpopulation as the biggest threat to the planet has the inadvertent consequence of blaming the poor who had little to do with it. Population science has a racist genocidal history; it has been used to target the poor and marginalised with forced sterilisation programmes that have eugenicist undertones. Attenborough doesn’t espouse racism, but his longstanding position on population as the cause of climate change inadvertently carries this assumption.

Neelam Batra, New Delhi

Old wine

Sir — After years of dithering and drama, the Congress finally has a new president who is not a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family. Mallikarjun Kharge has taken on the mantle of the president at a time when assembly elections are due in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. This is going to be an acid test for Kharge. His experience might just be advantageous for the party. Only time will tell whether Kharge succeeds in taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party in the upcoming polls.

N. Viswanathan, Coimbatore

Sir — Mallikarjun Kharge is a boon for the Congress. His fifty-odd years of political experience can pose a significant challenge to the Grand Old Party’s opponents. One hopes that under Kharge, the Congress will regain the ground that it has lost in the last two decades.

Fakhrul Alam, Calcutta

Sir — The election of Mallikarjun Kharge as the Congress president shows how averse the party is to radical changes. It is a wellknown fact that the NehruGandhi family exerts significant influence over Kharge. His opponent had spoken about making changes at the grassroots. Voters looking for a serious Opposition continue to be disappointed.

Murali Bharat, West Burdwan

Sir — The Congress presidential election saga shows why the country chose the BJP, in spite of all its faults, over the Congress. Power in the Congress is concentrated in the hands of the Nehru-Gandhi family — Mallikarjun Kharge’s election is proof of that. Shashi Tharoor should have known that the First Family would ensure that its power remains unaffected. The result of the election is just old wine in a new bottle.

Krishnan Subramaniam, Chennai

Poor imitation

Sir — Arghya Sengupta’s article, “Copy and paste” (Oct 19), was interesting. He is right in saying that Indian laws are out of touch with ground realities in India. Be it the data privacy bill or the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the columnist has rightly said that while using Western laws as supporting arguments, lawmakers often forget the Indian context. The capacity of the state to enforce such laws should be considered before making them.

Sukhendu Bhattacharjee, Hooghly

Smoke rising

Sir — The monsoon has receded and North India is bracing itself for a smoggy winter. The purportedly apathetic farmer who cares little about the well-being of Delhi’s urban citizenry will be held to a high standard of environmental stewardship again. However, unlike other years, this time the inevitable political mudslinging might not happen since the Aam Aadmi Party is in power both in Delhi and in Punjab.

The government needs to realise that at a policy level, it needs to recognise that agriculture, nutrition, water, the environment, and the economy are all deeply intertwined in the era of the Anthropocene. One cannot be addressed in a silo without having second and third-order effects on the other.

Arhan Pandey, Calcutta

New hope

Sir — When Sourav Ganguly became the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, there was hope that a Test cricketer would set things right after the board had been embroiled in court cases and conflict of interest issues. Instead, he was entangled in a conflict of interest himself, endorsing a fantasy cricket league that was a rival to one of the BCCI’s official sponsors.Roger Binny’s elevation is a reminder that sometimes nice guys do finish first. After bouts with egotism and personality cults in the BCCI, Binny’s appointment raises hope of a return to decency and decorum. His record as player, coach, selector, administrator is clean. He will be up against the usual political shenanigans in the BCCI, a governing body that deals in billions of dollars. This attracts politicians who are only too aware of the influence and business opportunities that come with being associated with it.

Sanjay Palodhi, Koraput

Universal syndrome

Sir — Monday seems bleak and dark irrespective of season or region (“Never on a Monday”, Oct 23). The first day of the working week is heavy with the burden of the upcoming six days. This is what led Guinness World Records to declare Monday as the worst day of the week. The global support for this announcement shows that the entire world is reluctant to work. Yet, Bengalis are nationally painted as lethargic, preferring holidays and slumber. It is high time Bengali-bashers learn to shed their racist mindset.

Kajal Chatterjee, Sodepur

Parting shot

Sir — The death of the renowned physician, Dilip Mahalanbis, who is credited with pioneering the oral rehydration therapy, is a great loss for the country. His endeavour saved thousands of lives during the 1971 liberation war in Bangladesh.

Jayanta Datta, Hooghly