Caged spirits

Sir — "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll mentions a barrister who dreams about prosecuting a pig that has long been dead. While animal trials were a reality during medieval times, most modern justice systems did away with such a provision citing animals' lack of moral agency. It is thus baffling that a pigeon captured by the Mumbai Police last year with a message in Chinese attached to its wings had to undergo eight months of incarceration on charges of spying for India's neighbour. Although the police cracked the case, the bird's release was delayed owing to procedural lapses. This makes one wonder whether a pigeon stands a chance of getting justice in a country where hundreds of innocents have been languishing in jails without a trial.

Tanmay Seal, Howrah

Political choice

Sir — The Narendra Modi-led dispensation seems to be on shaky ground ahead of the general elections. The two back-to-back announcements of the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, first for the late Karpoori Thakur, the socialist leader and former chief minister of Bihar, and then for L.K. Advani, the veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader who led the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, have thus been timed to woo the backward castes as well as majoritarian Hindus with an eye on the polls ("Ratna for Rathyatri", Feb 4).

Following the announcement, Advani stated that the award is a recognition of the ideals that he strove for during his time in the service of the nation. However, the same ideals have enabled him to remain silent on the misgovernance of the Modi government.

P.K. Sharma, Barnala, Punjab

Sir — In "The renascence" (Feb 3), Sunanda K. Datta-Ray rightly asserts that the consecration of the Ram mandir is more profound in terms of impact than the original offence — the demolition of the Babri masjid. This is because the endorsement of the State and the judicial sanction made the construction of the temple possible at the very site where the Babri masjid had stood for centuries.

The arrival of the proverbial Ram rajya will exacerbate communal hatred and will see the repetition of the Ayodhya project in Varanasi and Mathura. It will also mark the sweeping of burning issues like unemployment, hunger and poverty under the carpet. The bestowing of the Bharat Ratna on the architect of the mandir movement marks the beginning of more sinister things.

Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta

Sir — Perhaps never in the history of the world has a political leader responsible for leading a majoritarian movement in the past that led to the demolition of a medieval structure and, subsequently, nationwide riots been conferred the highest civilian honour. This is indeed a dark time for Indian democracy.

Kalyan Ghosh, Calcutta

Sir — The Centre's decision to award the Bharat Ratna to L.K. Advani is welcome. It is an acknowledgement of his enduring legacy in Indian politics. During his long political career, Advani held several key official positions, including that of the deputy prime minister, leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and the BJP president. An influential figure across the political spectrum, Advani always stood for the idea of a robust India.

Devendra Khurana, Bhopal

Sir — While the announcement of the Bharat Ratna for the late Karpoori Thakur is an attempt to secure the votes of the backward classes for the Lok Sabha polls, the bestowing of the same award on L.K. Advani can be seen as Narendra Modi's belated acknowledgement of his role in saving his political career: Advani had stopped the former prime minister, A.B. Vajpayee, from dismissing Modi as the Gujarat chief minister for not containing the Godhra riots in 2002.

Although Thakur and Advani are ideological opposites, their probity in public life — a rare thing among today's political breed — is a common thread binding the two stalwarts.

S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru

Sir — L.K. Advani had been sidelined in his party since the time Narendra Modi assumed power at the Centre. First, he was dropped from the BJP parliamentary board and then denied a chance to contest from Gandhinagar, a constituency that he represented several times in the elections. In 2013, Modi forced the saffron party to nominate him instead of Advani as its prime ministerial candidate. The Bharat Ratna honour for Advani is a self-serving gesture by the BJP to sustain the Hindutva narrative.

Fakhrul Alam, Calcutta

Deep cracks

Sir — The editorial, "Bengal soup" (Feb 5), analyses the dilemma confronting the INDIA bloc owing to the altercations between its partners, the Congress and the Trinamul Congress. The relentless attacks by Adhir Chowdhury, the Congress's Bengal unit chief, on the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, and the latter's contention that the Grand Old Party will not be able to secure even 40 seats in the Lok Sabha, have exposed the cracks in the alliance. Its unity has been in jeopardy since Nitish Kumar's desertion. Other INDIA leaders — Hemant Soren has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate and Arvind Kejriwal is facing a similar fate — have been pushed to a corner, rendering the future of the alliance uncertain.

K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam

New hope

Sir — It is heartening that cancer vaccines are being tested in the United Kingdom. The experimental mRNA therapy developed primarily by Moderna is aimed at curing people with advanced melanoma, lung cancer and other tumourous cancers. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. One hopes that the ongoing vaccine trials will bear fruit.

Amit Brahmo, Calcutta