Vital exchange
Sir — Reality, counterintuitively, can be inspired by fiction. In The Lord of the Rings, Treebeard, a tree giant, summoned his kith and kin and decided to attack Isengard upon learning that the forest would be cut down by Saruman to power his war efforts. Interestingly, a recent study has found that injured plants can communicate and warn each other of danger by emitting certain chemical compounds. These compounds then infiltrate a healthy plant’s tissues and activate stress responses. This has made scientists hopeful about immunising plants in the future against possible environmental hazards like droughts. One hopes that the new finding can also help researchers fortify the plant kingdom against unbridled deforestation.
Saptarshi Mandal, Howrah
Against peace
Sir — The Opposition is justified in censuring the Narendra Modi government for lacking moral courage by abstaining from a United Nations resolution that called for a humanitarian truce in Gaza (“India slammed for abstention”, Oct 29). While 120 countries voted for the resolution and 14 voted against it, New Delhi sided with the Western block by abstaining from it. This is a major departure from India’s long-standing policy of non-violence and peace.
A truce is urgently required in Gaza to prevent the conflict from escalating and check the rising number of mortalities that have already crossed 8,000. The injustice being meted out to Palestinians by cutting them off food supplies and vital aid is as heinous as the Hamas’ attack on Israel. By adopting a neutral stance, India may have expressed support for Israel’s aggression.
Jahar Saha, Calcutta
Sir — It is disconcerting that India, being the so-called mother of democracy, has refused to vote for a humanitarian truce in Gaza. The actions of the Israel Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip, such as the killing of civilians and the destruction of public buildings, are nothing short of war crimes as postulated in the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention.
The Narendra Modi-led regime’s tacit support for the wrongdoings of the Benjamin Netanyahu government in Gaza highlights the fact that they are natural allies. Both the leaders are backed by fascist, communal groups, both are supporters of capitalist forces, and their ascendency to power has been marked by the disintegration of democratic values.
Rudra Sen, Calcutta
Sir — António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, recently asserted that the Hamas attack did not take place in a vacuum, that it had been the culmination of years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands (“Inconvenient truths”, Oct 28). In an irate response to this statement, Israel has stopped issuing visas to UN officials. This is deplorable.
Notwithstanding its just cause, the Hamas’ midnight attack on Israel cannot be justified. Narendra Modi must use his proximity to both the warring parties to broker peace between them.
K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam
Crack the case
Sir — Two explosions rocked a Jehovah’s Witnesses gathering at Kalamassery in Kerala, resulting in the loss of at least two lives and injuring more than 50 (“Blasts at Christian prayer kill 2”, Oct 30). Although a man has claimed responsibility for the attack, the police are yet to identify the perpetrator. The fact that improvised explosive devices were used indicates that it may have been an act of terrorism.
Kerala is a secular state and has seldom harboured religious fundamentalism. It is hoped that the guilty will be brought to justice as soon as possible to nip terror activities in the bud.
M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
Sir — The National Investigation Agency has taken over the investigation into the explosions at a prayer meeting in Kerala. This is heartening. Terrorist attacks are unpardonable and should be sternly dealt with. That such activities have been recurring highlights the failure of intelligence agencies. The intelligence services should be made more robust.
Sravana Ramachandran, Chennai
Hard hearts
Sir — In his column, “The empathy code” (Oct 27), T.M. Krishna rightly pointed out that apart from feeling the pain of others, empathy is also about rejoicing in another’s happiness. However, the former is more difficult than the latter.
Can the people fully empathise with the story of the 11-year-old Dalit girl from Jharkhand, Santoshi Kumari, who died of starvation owing to the technical glitches in the public distribution system? Unfortunately, Kumari’s tragedy has not been able to make the dent it should have in public memory.
Sujit De, Calcutta
Top guns
Sir — Rohit Sharma and his Men in Blue must be congratulated for their stunning victory against England. India defeated England by 100 runs in the ongoing cricket World Cup (“Bowlers dare dew, call shots”, Oct 30). Indian bowlers, especially Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, took out the English top-order batsmen with ease.
On the batting side, Virat Kohli’s dismissal on a duck was disheartening. Shreyas Iyer, who continues to perform poorly, cannot offer any excuses for his showing. That India have remained unbeaten so far raises hopes for a repetition of 1983 and 2011.
N. Mahadevan, Chennai
Sir — The crushing defeat of England at the hands of India indicates their fallibility. The 2019 world champion failed to counter India’s bowling attack. Even their best batsman, Joe Root, was out of touch. Perhaps it is time for England to reorganise the team and recruit more young blood.
M.N. Gupta, Hooghly
