Warm embrace

Sir — The saffron party’s obsession with the gau mata is notorious. The animal welfare board recently issued a notice calling on citizens to celebrate February 14 as ‘cow hug day’, emphasising that doing so would bring “emotional richness”. While the choice of date is unsurprising given the party’s reservations against Valentine’s Day, which it considers a ‘Western import’, what is baffling is the convenient adoption of the equally Western fad of ‘cow cuddling’. But overzealous cow huggers should be prepared for rejection since bovines are not known to be subtle in matters of such one-sided obsession.

Bidisha Basak, Noida

Serious claims

Sir — A Supreme Court bench dismissed petitions against the appointment of L. Victoria Gowri as an additional judge of the Madras High Court (“Judge takes oath before SC rejects plea”, Feb 8). This is unfortunate. Justice Gowri was an active member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has been accused on several occasions of making hate speeches against minority communities. Thus, it is unsurprising that the BJP government at the Centre, always at loggerheads with the collegium’s recommendations, approved her name without demur (“Cleared”, Feb 9). Although the bench rightly deliberated that a judge’s political background cannot be the basis for disqualification, it raises the question: can minorities expect justice at the hands of a judge who is allegedly against them and their interests?

Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai

Sir — It is disconcerting that the allegations of hate speech against Justice L. Victoria Gowri were not brought to the notice of the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud. This is in stark contrast to the observation made by the Supreme Court bench that the collegium cannot be presumed not to have all the relevant information on the judge. The contrasting views clearly show a lack of transparency within the collegium system.

Sravana Ramachandran, Chennai

Sir — The appointment of L. Victoria Gowri, an alleged rabble-rouser, as an additional judge of a high court is distressing. Her bias against Muslims and Christians is sure to influence her judgments to the detriment of minorities.

Sujoy Mukherjee, Calcutta

Vital omissions

Sir — In his reply to the motion of thanks in the Lok Sabha, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, exhaustively listed the achievements of his government but, unsurprisingly, left out its various shortcomings such as the high rates of unemployment and inflation (“56-inch veil of silence on Adani marks 90-minute speech by Modi”, Feb 9). Further, his self-congratulatory remarks on managing the Covid-19 pandemic belie the large number of deaths during the second wave and the plight of the migrant workers during the lockdown. Modi also conveniently left out any remark on the ongoing controversy regarding the Adani Group. It is an open secret that the rise of Gautam Adani was facilitated by the prime minister. Modi’s silence on the issue is a desperate bid to distance himself from the conglomerate.

G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Sir — The silence of the prime minister to the questions raised by the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, on the Adani issue is telling. It shows his tacit support for the tycoon.

Sudipto Dey, Malda

Fighting spirit

Sir — In his first interview since the near-fatal attack on him last year, the author, Salman Rushdie, revealed that he had dreamt that a figure like a gladiator would hurt him with a sharp object just days before the incident. This is similar to the premonition that Julius Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia, had before the Roman general was killed, in the play by William Shakespeare. It is heartening that Rushdie has retained his sense of humour even after having gone through such a harrowing experience. He refused to cower when a fatwa was issued in his name in 1989 and remains resilient against such repressive voices as ever.

Khokan Das, Calcutta

Bird calls

Sir — A hen harrier, a bird of prey native to northern Europe, and a Eurasian oystercatcher have recently been spotted in West Bengal (“Mystery of long flights of migratory birds”, Feb 8). Additionally, the chicks, which have been artificially hatched and raised by humans, have also managed to undertake similar migratory journeys. Migration is perilous for birds. Apart from natural threats, human activities like the construction of windmills pose significant hurdles in avian flight paths. Light pollution also throws off birds from their flyways.

Dyutiman Bhattacharya, Calcutta

Sir — It has been heartening to listen to the calls of cuckoos for the past few days. We should consider ourselves lucky that even though Calcutta has turned into a concrete jungle, the pleasure of hearing kokiler daak during spring has not yet vanished from our lives.

Sourish Misra, Calcutta