Spare Santa

Sir — No one is above the law, goes the maxim. Whether it is the head of State or the poorest beggar in the land, the law applies equally to all. However, it may be wise to exempt fictional beings from its purview. In a recent incident in England’s Worcester, Santa Claus was fined for parking his sleigh in a pedestrian zone. Although it was not actually Father Christmas but a man dressed as him who was penalised, people who bring joy and festive cheer to children should be let off the hook. Otherwise, the offending cop might just find himself on Santa’s naughty list.

Gopal Dasgupta, Calcutta

War of words

Sir — The Union minister of external affairs, S. Jaishankar, seems to have taken issue with the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, for using the word, “pitai”, in the context of the clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Tawang recently, asserting in Parliament that it was disrespectful towards jawans. It is time the ruling party stopped nitpicking comments made by the Opposition and dealt with reality. Information about repeated Chinese incursions into Indian territory should immediately be made public by the Central government.

S. Kamat, Alto Santa Cruz, Goa

Sir — The comment made by Rahul Gandhi about Indian soldiers being beaten up at the line of actual control is in bad taste. S. Jaishankar has rightly lambasted Rahul’s choice of words. Jawans who selflessly guard our borders do not deserve criticism. Rahul should choose his words more carefully in the future.

M.C. Vijay Shankar, Chennai

Sir — Whenever it is caught on the back foot, the government at the Centre makes a mountain out of a molehill to distract the country from its shortcomings. S. Jaishankar’s outrage at Rahul Gandhi for using the word, “pitai”, is just another instance of this. What Rahul says does not change the ground reality along the LAC with China, where Indian soldiers are poorly equipped to fight Chinese aggression.

S.A.K. Sinha, Gaya

Grave imbalance

Sir — The Unified District Information System for Education Plus report for 2021-22 should set alarm bells ringing. Since 2018-19, the number of government schools in India has decreased by at least 61,000, but the enrolment of students in public schools has increased by some 1,20,00,000. At a time when public schools are already overcrowded, this information highlights the deterioration of teacher-student ratios. The Centre must take steps to improve the quality of public education.

Abhijit Roy, Jamshedpur

Feeding flames

Sir — Amidst the ongoing border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka, Sanjay Raut, a leader of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), has asserted that the party will enter Karnataka just as ‘China has entered India’. The discord between the two states has turned nasty in recent weeks and such irresponsible statements can only add fuel to the fire. It would be wiser to allow the conflict to be resolved in court.

N. Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

Open up

Sir — The enthralling story about a village in Himachal Pradesh whose residents claim to be descendants of Alexander the Great’s generals and soldiers reminded me of the once-isolated Jarawa tribe living in the Andaman islands (“For fair assessment, DNA the Great”, Dec 21). Their extreme seclusion, evident from their refusal to let outsiders learn their language and customs, has no place in the modern world.

Sukhendu Bhattacharjee, Hooghly