This refers to the news report “Tharoor’s “cattle class” tweet annoys Congress” (Sept. 17). I have always been an admirer of Shashi Tharoor the writer. And I wish Mr. Tharoor, who has an amazing way with words, had used a different expression, given that he is a socially responsible writer. The writer in him brings the common man alive. But in the Minister’s tweets, there seems to be no place for we, the people.
Manashi Misra,
New Delhi
India has a huge middle class and most of the people travel economy class. The phrase used by the Minister has not only hurt the people’s sentiments but also reinforced the difference between the neta and the janta, from among whom the neta is selected.
Anshu Yadav,
New Delhi
The “cattle class” comment by a man of Mr. Tharoor’s calibre speaks badly of his sensitivity towards fellow Indians, whom he is expected to serve.
B. Uthamanarayanan,
Coimbatore
So Mr. Tharoor, who stayed in a five-star hotel pending the renovation of his official residence, thinks economy class is “cattle class.” He might have paid the hotel bills out of his pocket but it is obvious that he does not understand the difficulties of the aam aadmi. I am sure he does not realise that a vast majority still has only dreams of travelling in his so-called cattle class.
Manisha Pillai,
Kochi
The Minister would do well to remember that he was voted to power by the so-called cattle class. And the same class can oust him. Those who consider themselves superior to the “cattle class” should not enter public life.
A. Mohan,
Chennai
Mr. Tharoor is not very different from many of our other politicians. It is just that he has not yet learnt to hide his contempt for the common man. He is turning out to be a great embarrassment to the government with his injudicious statements and lavish lifestyle.
Ram Narayan,
Chennai
Mr. Tharoor may be elitist. But he should not forget that showing off his language prowess will cost him dearly. For his survival, he should learn to be politically correct.
Varad Seshadri,
Sunnyvale
In fairness to Mr. Tharoor, it must be said that it was only when a tweeter asked him whether he was flying cattle class to Ghana/Liberia, he said “… absolutely, in cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows.” Both tweets are there on Twitter for all to see. So, the “cattle class” phrase attributed to Mr. Tharoor actually came from the questioner.
John Thomas,
Bangalore
Mr. Tharoor’s remarks have been blown out of proportion. Twitter is meant to communicate on a person to person basis. Being a celebrity, Mr. Tharoor gets very little time to answer the questions he is asked. He replied diplomatically to a person in the same manner in which the question was asked. “Holy cow” is an exclamation of surprise used in American and Canadian English. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse and that seems to have been Mr. Tharoor’s intention. “Cattle class” refers to the economy class on a flight. It is thus called because many people are crammed into a small space for a long time.
Salim Jacob,
Thiruvananthapuram
The ability to laugh at oneself is a precious gift. Sadly, somewhere along the way, we as a nation have lost it for good. How else can one explain the furore over Mr. Tharoor’s comments made in pure jest? “Cattle class” and “holy cow” have been in use in English for a long time.
The newfound love for austerity among our leaders is nothing but humbug. The aam aadmi is being put to a lot of hardship by them in the process.
Mani Menon,
Chennai
