Elusive freedom
Sir — The irony of being captured only to be set free in front of an audience is not lost even on animals. Perhaps this is why when a pigeon was released during the Independence Day celebrations in Chhattisgarh’s Mungeli, it refused to fly and fell headlong onto the ground instead. So frail is the human ego that instead of seeing the humour in this, the local police have started a veterinary inquiry into the incident to affix blame. The blame lies squarely with humans. What is the point of capturing birds just so that humans can appear magnanimous while releasing them later? Captured birds seldom survive after being released.
Bidyut Sikdar, Delhi
Ballot hour
Sir — The editorial, “Two polls” (Aug 22), rightly argued that the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana will be fought on local issues, such as the worsening agrarian crisis, lack of industrialisation, unemployment and the gross mishandling of the farmers’ protests. Even though the protests ceased a few months ago, dissatisfaction prevails among the farming community owing to several enduring challenges. The political parties in the fray are thus looking to exploit this discontentment. However, it seems that caste is still going to be the deciding factor for parties while choosing the candidates.
Yugal Kishore Sharma, Faridabad
Sir — People in Haryana are desperately looking for a change of government owing to the misrule by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress seems poised to take advantage of this anti-incumbency. But it is the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir that will be closely watched. In the general elections, the Union territory recorded the highest voter turnout in 35 years. This shows how keen the people of the Valley are on being heard.
Given the recent spurt in terrorist attacks in J&K, the Election Commission of India must deploy ample security forces to ensure fair and peaceful elections.
Bal Govind, Noida
Sir — The BJP is facing anti-incumbency in Haryana. The caste alliance that has been backing the saffron party in the state had begun to weaken by 2019. The farmers’ protest and the opposition to the Agnipath scheme have further dented the BJP’s prospects in recent years. A resurgent Congress must be mindful of its shortcomings — intra-party feuds are an example — and provide the people with a reliable alternative.
For J&K, the assembly election will be a major step towards ensuring the restoration of democratic processes. This is crucial for dealing with local issues and providing much-needed healing to the conflict-torn region.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
Deep irony
Sir — Antony Blinken, the secretary of state of the United States of America, ended his ninth visit to Israel since the war in Gaza began without achieving any meaningful resolution to bring peace. It was naive to expect the US to secure a breakthrough in the ongoing conflict when it has been instrumental in creating or sustaining such conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan in the past. The US weapons industry, which accounts for 42% of global defence sales, has a stranglehold on domestic politics and its role in foreign nations.
R. Narayanan, Navi Mumbai
Welcome step
Sir — The Hooghly police has introduced a one-day menstrual leave for female personnel, including home guards, village police and civic volunteers (“Menstrual leave for Hooghly women cops “, Aug 22). This is a laudable move. Women face different challenges physically and emotionally during menstruation. A leave will thus prove to be beneficial for them and also motivate other women to join the police force.
Shyamal Thakur, East Burdwan
