Starry, starry nights
Sir — When Vincent van Gogh looked up at the night sky, he saw spellbinding beauty. Had he had the misfortune of being born 20 years from now, all he would have seen was a cloak of darkness. A recent report by the German Centre of Geosciences has flagged, once again, grave dangers to starry night skies. Constellations may soon be visible only to the rich or famous who can afford private space flights as part of billionaires’ pet projects. But the future does not have to look dark. Turning off inessential and cosmetic lights can not only keep the night sky twinkling but also keep the energy bills under control.
Preeti Sharma, Bhopal
Wanton disregard
Sir — A working group constituted by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy has apparently found that the forest (conservation) amendment bill 2023, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March and then referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, could jeopardise vast tracts of ecologically important forests and leave out several unclassed forests that cover around 15% of India’s total forest cover. One would think that every forest, protected or otherwise, is precious as a stabilising force that regulates ecosystems, protects biodiversity, supports livelihoods, and supplies goods and services that could drive sustainable growth. But this government does not seem to think so.
Yashodhara Sen, Calcutta
Sir — India has traditionally favoured a liberal interpretation of forests because such a stance ensured that more areas received protection from encroachment, development and diversion. But the forest (conservation) amendment bill, 2023 seeks to reverse this tradition by narrowly adhering to the definition of forests. A significant provision of the bill covers only land declared or notified as a forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, or under any other law.
Yet, when it comes to surveys of the forest cover in India, the country takes the broadest stance possible, including everything from commercial plantations to thickets. This kind of sleight of hand will not fool people, and even if it does, it will extract a steep price in the long run.
Asim Boral, Calcutta
Shift in focus
Sir — In the article, “The Self(ie) era” (May 31), Uddalak Mukherjee mentions Roland Barthes’s Camera Lucida. In this posthumous work, Barthes arrives at the broad conclusion that every photograph contains the sign of death, and that the essence of photography is the implied message: “That has been.’’ Mukherjee posits this documentation of the subject hurtling towards death as the camera recording absence or the journey towards it.
Yet, Camera Lucida and its theories rely heavily on portrait photography. Could it not be argued that the person obsessively taking selfies is also documenting all that he or she “has been” in preparation for his or her eventual absence?
Tathagata Sanyal, Birmingham, UK
Sir — There was a time when admirers used to request their favourite celebrities for autographs. But the arrival of smartphones has changed that scenario completely. In this era of selfies, most fans prefer taking selfies with them, instead of collecting their signatures.
Sourish Misra, Calcutta
Trouble brewing
Sir — The crisis in the Rajasthan Congress has deepened with Sachin Pilot refusing to relent on his three demands — to probe corruption charges against the erstwhile Vasundhara Raje regime, disband the Rajasthan Public Service Commission, and provide compensation to those affected by government job exam paper leak cases.
Of these, the first is key. With this move, he aims to kill two birds with one stone and uncover the alleged ‘mili bhagat’ between the chief minister and the former chief minister, Ashok Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje, respectively, and show his rival in poor light. It is a last-ditch attempt by Pilot to get what he wants before the Rajasthan assembly elections later this year.
Subhankar Munda, Calcutta
Sir — The Congress has dismissed rumours that Sachin Pilot may float an independent party. If Pilot does float a party, he will be foolish. He does not have enough support to win a majority and will only cut into the Congress’s votes.
Rutuja Nandi, Calcutta
Tense season
Sir — Monsoon has set in over Kerala seven days later than usual. National and international, public and private forecasters differ widely on whether or not the monsoon will be normal. It is far too early for any definitive takeaways from this batch of predictions because the monsoon depends on a host of factors, including temperature, pressure and winds.
Still, in a year in which El Niño conditions — characterised by an unusual warming of waters in the eastern equatorial Pacific, which has a high correlation with warmer summers and weaker monsoons — are predicted to develop in July, any vagaries of India’s most important weather phenomena must be watched carefully.
Surabhi Gupta, Delhi
