Curious bias
Sir — It has become easy to learn new languages — be it gathering a working knowledge from watching foreign-language TV shows or on applications like Duolingo, Babbel and Rosetta Stone. However, there are obvious biases when it comes to which languages are available for learning. Bengali, for instance, is hard to find on such apps. This is despite its rich literature and the fact that more than 350 million people speak Bengali. Yet, fictional languages like Dothraki and Klingon are easily available. Could it be that the unwillingness of Bengali-speakers to use their mother tongue is the cause for its unpopularity?
Dipti Basak, Calcutta
Careless attitude
Sir — The silence of the prime minister on the agitation and violence in Manipur, his weaponising of the film, The Kerala Story, and his single-minded focus on elections at a time when the country is beleaguered on several fronts are worrying (“Scary story”, May 6). Narendra Modi should meet with various agitating segments in Manipur and try to put out the other fires across the country.
K. Nehru Patnaik,Visakhapatnam
Sir — Similarities could be drawn between King Nero and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The former played the fiddle while Rome burned. The latter is rigorously campaigning in Karnataka for the upcoming assembly elections, indifferent to the burning problems of riots, violence and arson in Manipur and the protest of the wrestlers against the Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian and chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
M.C. Vijai Shanker, Chennai
Sir — While all of India is in strife, Narendra Modi is busy being garlanded and sporting headgears in Karnataka.
Fakhrul Alam, Calcutta
Stark difference
Sir — The police have finally registered a case against the Uttarakhand urban development, finance and parliamentary affairs minister, Premchand Aggarwal, who assaulted a man for crossing his convoy (“‘Assaulter’ BJP minister booked”, May 4). The stark difference in how elected representatives treat people before and after elections is shocking.
Ananda Dulal Ghosh, Howrah
Faulty project
Sir — Ramachandra Guha’s article, “History for chauvinists” (May 6), underlines the shortcomings of the Hindutva version of Indian history that is being written under the current political regime. The Hindutva approach to writing history focuses on the lives of renowned personalities and their achievements. A true picture of the past can only emerge when a historian encompasses the entire human experience. Hindutva history reminds me of the approach of the historians employed by royal patrons, whose main task was to glorify the lives and deeds of the ruling classes. If this distortion of Indian history continues, future generations will remain ignorant about the true history of our country.
Yousuf Iqbal, Calcutta
Sir — Ramachandra Guha has exposed the erroneous way in which Hindutva historians are going about rewriting history. Guha rightly points out that history is no longer supposed to tell us only about powerful kings and emperors but also of the struggles and the lives of common people who have been particularly neglected till now.
Satadal Deb, Calcutta
Sir — One cannot rewrite history to fit a specific narrative. This government wants to change history and make us believe in a version of Bharat which probably never existed. Unfortunately for the Bharatiya Janata Party and other Hindutva outfits, they do not have historians of eminence in their ranks. Their half-baked theories are only good for WhatsApp groups and not worth serious research as they are not backed by facts.
Anthony Henriques, Mumbai
Dig out the truth
Sir — The barrel of a British cannon that was recently unearthed in Calcutta reminds us of the horrors of colonialism (“Dig unearths ‘British-era cannon’”, May 5). The excavation of the barrel tells us that the history of revolt against the colonisers and the tireless efforts of the revolutionaries will not fade from memory. Editing out bits of history will not hide the truth.
Zinat Sultana, Calcutta
Parting shot
Sir — Go First, the Wadia Group’s low-cost carrier, has become India’s first domestic airline to go into a mid-air stall and seek bankruptcy protection since the pandemic. Go First’s financial woes are largely symptomatic of the malaise afflicting the wider industry. Given the high capital and operational costs, the commercial air transport industry operates with wafer-thin margins. The onus is on the Centre to find long-term policy solutions if it wants India’s struggling airlines to succeed.
Chhanda Pesnia, Rayagada, Odisha
