Sunny nights

Sir — A good salesman, the saying goes, can sell ice to an eskimo. A company planning to sell sunlight to humans, then, should not come as a surprise. The start-up, Reflect Orbital, plans to launch mirror-equipped satellites into space which can reflect strong beams of sunlight onto specific geospatial coordinates on earth at night. When other natural resources like water, ice and even air have been bottled and sold, it was perhaps only a matter of time before man found a way to monetise sunlight. However, being able to have the sun shine at night might revolutionise the way humans produce energy.

Payel Ghosh,
Calcutta

Hateful speech

Sir — Hate speech, especially by elected representatives, that targets a specific community has been repeatedly flagged as a possible trigger for ethnic conflagrations and atrocities that could have catastrophic consequences. Yet, the chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, had no qualms about saying hateful things about Bengali Muslims in the state. He said that he will not permit the ‘Miya Muslims’ — a derogatory way of referring to Bengali Muslims — to “take over” Assam (“Venomous”, Aug 30). His comment is clearly politically motivated and aimed at shifting the focus away from discussing policies and administrative measures that provide better safety for women and create social awareness.

Arun Gupta,
Calcutta

Sir — Himanta Biswa Sarma continues to revel in making communally sensitive remarks against Assam’s minority communities. During the 2024 general elections, Sarma had, in speech after speech, used rabidly communal language to target Muslims with nary a response from the Election Commission of India. This is in spite of the fact that the Supreme Court has specifically asked states and Union territories to take suo motu cognizance of hate speech and lodge first information reports against those who make hate speeches. The law enforcement is duty-bound to take Sarma to task for his inciteful comments. He cannot be allowed to get away just because he is a chief minister.

Arka Goswami,
Burdwan

Sir — The chief minister of Assam has gone against his oath of bearing true faith and allegiance to India’s secular Constitution. By amplifying the demands by majoritarian groups that have been threatening an entire community to leave Upper Assam and suggesting that the minority community does not have the right to free movement, he is furthering hate in a state which is already afflicted by ethnic violence. Sarma should know that the dangerous game he is playing leads to the kind of clashes that have been raging in Manipur for over a year now.

Sukhendu Bhattacharjee,
Hooghly

Sir — Bengali Muslims are frequently accused of being undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh in Assam, thus complicating their place in society. Illegal immigration has been a burning issue in India, specifically in the Northeast, where the government’s failure to assuage such tensions has led to increased ethnic conflicts. For many in Assam, it might seem as though the chief minister is finally addressing their concerns. But he is actually using the cynical ploy of fostering division in order to reap the benefits of the politics of hate.

Khokan Das,
Calcutta

Green shift

Sir — In her budget speech, the Union finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, signalled that polluting industries, such as iron, steel, and aluminium, would have to conform to emission targets. This would be achieved by putting in place an ‘Indian Carbon Market’, Sitharaman had claimed. This is a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. Polluters are given emission caps. This is not based on relative standards such as energy-efficiency requirements, but on absolute standards, which are emission ceilings. This is a step in the right direction for India to move away from its excessive dependence on fossil fuels.

S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru

Choose peace

Sir — Ever since the Taliban recaptured Kabul in August 2021, Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks, especially in its Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces bordering Afghanistan. In 2023 alone, there were over 650 recorded attacks, with 23% of them occurring in Balochistan, which is Pakistan’s largest province by landmass and a hotbed of separatist insurgency.

Historically, Pakistan has taken a ruthless, militarist approach towards the Baloch problem. Balochistan, despite its wealth of natural resources, is the country’s most impoverished region because it has been neglected for long, unlike, say, the Punjab. The Pakistani establishment has also failed to engage with the civil rights movements in Balochistan. If Pakistan is serious about stability and security in its largest province, it should take measures to address the concerns of the locals.

Birkha Khadka Duvarseli,
Siliguri