Tiger in the house

Sir — Those who have grown up reading stories by Ruskin Bond have certainly dreamt of wild animals walking into their backyards. One such dream may have come true recently when a tiger strolled into a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district and perched itself on top of a wall. Unfazed by the crowd gathering nearby, it continued to doze atop the wall for hours until it was rescued by forest officials. The big cat’s unusual behaviour was later attributed to an illness — after all, tigers do not usually sun themselves in courtyards like house cats despite what Ruskin Bond might have his readers believe.

Priyadarshini Pal, Calcutta

Shrinking freedom

Sir — The recently passed Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 poses a grave threat to the integrity of India’s electoral process as it gives the ruling party at the Centre almost unilateral control over appointments to the Election Commission of India (“Tilted scale”, Dec 28). The appointment process must be made more transparent and inclusive with inputs from both the Opposition and the judiciary. It is also time to reexamine the methodology of Indian elections — the first-past-the-post system no longer reflects the plurality of the Indian electorate.

Dhananjay Sinha, Calcutta

Sir — In a significant development during the winter session, Parliament passed a bill — which has now received presidential assent — to replace the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991. The new law states that the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners will be appointed by the president on the recommendation of a panel made up of the prime minister, a cabinet minister and the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The removal of the Chief Justice of India from the panel has justifiably raised concerns. The government claims that it is well within its rights to frame such a law. But State interference in the workings of the ECI will only harm democracy.

Prakash Bakliwal, Indore

Sir — The Bharatiya Janata Party-led dispensation at the Centre has, on several occasions, attempted to weaken the democratic institutions that uphold the rights of citizens. The latest institution under attack is the ECI. The government has, through a law passed by brute majority, excluded the Chief Justice of India from the committee responsible for the selection of the chief election commissioner and his subordinates on the poll panel. This is in clear contravention of a March 2023 order of the apex court. Democratic backsliding thus continues in what is supposedly the world’s largest democracy.

Jahar Saha, Calcutta

Poor performance

Sir — The Indian men’s cricket team suffered a crushing innings defeat in the first Test against South Africa (“Proteas give India a hiding”, Dec 29). Poor team selection contributed to the defeat — in the absence of an experienced pacer like Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh should have been drafted into the playing XI. It was also disheartening to see the captain, Rohit Sharma, underperform with the bat in both innings. The players should keep their morale high and bounce back in the next Test.

M.N. Gupta, Hooghly

Sir — South Africa deserves to be congratulated for an excellent performance in which they beat India by a margin of more than an innings at the Centurion. The Indian batsmen put up a below-average performance in both innings. Let us hope that the players come back stronger in the second Test.

N. Mahadevan, Chennai