Sop season
Sir — Divided by borders, united by rewdis. Indonesia, the third-largest democracy in the world, goes to the polls soon and, expectedly, it is raining rewdis in that country. But these are no ordinary sops. Neither pressure cookers of yore nor modern-day laptops are being doled out by Indonesian politicians. What attracts the young electorate of Indonesia — 52% of the country’s voters are under 40 years of age — are tickets to K-pop concerts. That is not all. Candidates such as the former military general, Prabowo Subianto, have taken to TikTok and broken into jigs to sway the young electorate. What, though, does this say about the Indonesian voters? A pressure cooker can at least feed voters, unlike Jung Kook’s dulcet tunes or Subianto’s killer moves.
Shilpi Dey, Calcutta
Power games
Sir — Since no single party could secure a clear majority in the recent polls in Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, has no choice but to call for a coalition government (“Sharif eyes coalition government”, Feb 12). Given that the PML-N won 75 seats, the Pakistan Peoples Party 54, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan 17 and other smaller parties 17, no two parties can come together to have a clear majority in Parliament. The only solution might be a government comprising several stakeholders.
K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam
Sir — Poll results in Pakistan have resulted in instability as no party has been able to win a clear majority to form a government. The performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed independent candidates must have blindsided Nawaz Sharif and the military establishment that supports him (“Khan backers rule results”, Feb 12). The result also highlights the democratic temperament of Pakistani citizens who have challenged the military establishment, which still dictates State affairs in Pakistan. It remains to be seen whether the army learns a lesson from these results or increases suppression.
Karan Singh, Chennai
Sir — Imran Khan’s PTI-backed candidates have won the lion’s share of seats in the recently-concluded elections in Pakistan despite the efforts of the military establishment. It is rumoured that the army chief, General Asim Munir, is now trying to stitch together a coalition among the PML-N, the PPP and other smaller parties to reach the magic number of 133 seats. One hopes that the country emerges out of this political turmoil soon.
Dimple Wadhawan, Kanpur
Punish the guilty
Sir — Ten Bharatiya Janata Party workers have been arrested in connection with an attack on the senior Marathi journalist, Nikhil Wagle, in Pune. The incident was condemned by the Editors Guild of India, which urged the Maharashtra government to take action against the culprits. The Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, has said that the attack on the outspoken journalist reflects the collapse of law and order in the state. The offenders must be given stringent punishment.
Mohammad Taukir, Bettiah, Bihar
Stark difference
Sir — It is significant that the Hungarian president, Katalin Novak, resigned and the former justice minister, Judit Varga, retired from public life following public outrage at the pardon granted to a man convicted in a case of child sexual abuse. However, similarly heinous criminals in India have not only been granted remission by the State but also been felicitated by some political outfits. Yet, no resignations have been demanded of anyone. Moreover, despite accusations of sexual assault and protests by female wrestlers, the former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, may contest for the Lok Sabha from Kaiserganj. Will the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party learn anything from the president and the former justice minister of Hungary?
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad
Piece of history
Sir — It was delightful to learn that the medals for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris will feature small pieces of iron from the Eiffel Tower. These chunks have been included in the medals to mark the centenary of the Olympic Games. Every medal has at its centre a hexagon of iron collected from renovations to the Eiffel Tower carried out over the years. The pieces of metal were carefully preserved and donated to the Paris Olympics committee to create the unique designs. These special medals were designed by the famous jewellery house, Chaumet. Such an offbeat idea must be lauded.
M. Pradyu, Kannur, Kerala
Electric future
Sir — Significant progress has been made in harnessing alternative sources of energy via solar, wind and thermal power (“Oily culture”, Feb 11). Hopefully, this will help us achieve a sustainable, low-carbon future. Emissions from vehicles may come down and electric vehicles are expected to dominate the market, leading to a marked drop in global oil consumption. However, it is worrying that the aviation and shipping industries continue to depend on fossil fuels.
H.N. Ramakrishna, Bengaluru
Costly taste
Sir — The price of garlic has skyrocketed with rates reaching as high as Rs 500 per kilogramme in retail markets. Supply shortages owing to delays in sowing have worsened the situation. This burden affects both farmers and buyers. The authorities must address the underlying factors contributing to price fluctuations and implement measures to stabilise prices. Steps must also be taken to mitigate the impact of price hikes on farmers as well as consumers.
Vishal Mayur, Bengaluru
