Pleasant hues
Sir — Any kind of noise is a nuisance. Noise pollution is a major source of many public health crises — blasting loudspeakers above permitted decibel levels can lead to anxiety, sleep deprivation and other mental health issues in most people. But what if the reverse of this is also true? A spate of social media posts and YouTube videos on the therapeutic benefits of exposure to ‘coloured noise’ has been doing the rounds recently. In fact, research has also found that pink, green, brown and white noises may actually help people function more proactively in their daily lives and can even induce slumber in insomniacs. Perhaps Durga Puja organisers in the city can take a cue from this and calibrate their sound systems accordingly.
Survhi Shaw, Bhopal
Spacebound
Sir — The Indian Space Research Organisation’s Gaganyaan programme will make India the fourth nation to launch a manned space mission after the United States of America, Russia and China. It symbolises India’s aspiration to become a leading power in aerospace science. The success of the first flight test is a positive step towards the final launch.
The second phase of the Gaganyaan mission will involve the launch of Vyommitra, a female spacefaring humanoid robot. Vyommitra is Sanskrit for ‘space friend’. This will undoubtedly be one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs for Isro. It is hoped that India will emerge as a dominant voice in space exploration in the near future.
Dimple Wadhawan, Kanpur
Sir — The success of Gaganyaan’s first test flight lays the groundwork for the planned mission, which may send Indian astronauts to space in 2024. This is a significant milestone for India and is a testament to Isro’s prowess.
Ibne Ali, Sitamarhi, Bihar
End the war
Sir — Narrating the lived experiences of people residing in the conflict-ridden areas of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, Tarushikha Sarvesh writes, “Here, the Jewish settler colony is in the heart of a significant Palestinian population, thereby complicating matters” (“Scenes from the West Bank”, Oct 21). While the barbaric attack on Israel by Hamas should be condemned, Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories cannot be endorsed. Around 15 million Palestinians have been suffering the brutalities of Israel’s oppression for decades. The Holocaust was a severe injustice against the Jewish community. Yet this cannot be a justification for the occupation of a neighbouring country. Israel must adhere to the two-state solution outlined in the 1993 Oslo Accords. World leaders should take the initiative to broker peace talks between the warring sides to achieve a lasting solution to the crisis.
Sujit De, Calcutta
Sir — In her article, “Perception war” (Oct 23), Sevanti Ninan rightly pointed out that the Indian media’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict dwarfs its attention towards the ethnic fires burning in Manipur.
Manipur has been torn by communal violence for over five months now and yet the double-engine government of the Bharatiya Janata Party has done little to help the state. The prime minister and his team seem to be only concerned about winning elections, leaving hapless citizens to fend for themselves.
K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam
Sir — The Israel-Hamas conflict is gradually turning into a culture war. Last week, a ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair at which the Palestinian author, Adania Shibli, was to receive a prestigious award was cancelled. Shibli’s 2017 novel, Minor Detail, is based on the atrocities committed by Israeli military personnel against a Bedouin girl in 1949. Such partisan support for Israel is also being witnessed in the United States of America and elsewhere.
Further, The Guardian’s eminent cartoonist, Steve Bell, was reportedly let go of for over his caricature of Benjamin Netanyahu. Such blatant attempts to drown dissenting voices will prove inimical to global democracy.
Vijay Singh Adhikari, Nainital
Worthy of honour
Sir — Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody in Iran after being arrested for violating the country’s headscarf law, has been posthumously awarded the European Union’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Her death sparked calls for the overthrow of Iran’s Islamic theocracy. Her recognition is thus heartening. The award is named after Andrei Sakharov, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who was also a political dissident.
Amini’s death inspired movements protesting atrocities against women around the world. The European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola, stated that Amini’s death “marked a turning point” in history. The award has rightfully
recognised the sacrifices of the brave women who have been leading the push for change.
Amarjeet Kumar, Hazaribagh
Missed opportunity
Sir — In a recent referendum in Australia, voters rejected a proposal to amend the Constitution in order to grant indigenous communities representation in the country’s government and Parliament (“Shared sin”, Oct 23). This is deplorable. The proposal could have created a more inclusive ethos and tried to address years of injustice meted out to the indigenous peoples.
The referendum stemmed from a historic 2017 summit, which called for a treaty between the government and the indigenous communities as well as a commission to promote “truth-telling about... history”. Unless the native communities are given opportunities on a par with the majority of the population, Australia’s progress will continue to be marred by the burden of its colonial past.
Khokan Das, Calcutta
