The NRC test
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is simply overreacting (“It’s super emergency in the country, says Mamata”, August 3).
The issue is undoubtedly very serious but her remarks are not mature. The fact that the missing names from the NRC draft include relatives of a former President of India and an MLA is worrying, but it is more worrying that an elected Chief Minister speaks of the possibility of a civil war. Ms. Banerjee’s divisive agenda has few takers.
D.V.G. Sankararao,
Vizianagaram
The nationalist narrative has gained so much acceptance over the decades that the Opposition parties, barring a few like the Trinamool Congress, do not deem it necessary to take a humanitarian approach to the citizenship issue. The clash between nationalism and humanism is stark. Imagine the state of the people who will be rendered stateless? It is not enough to be Indians; it has become necessary to be “genuine Indians” now, to borrow a phrase from the Union Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju. The NRC exercise should not dent India’s image as a land of disparate races and religions co-existing peacefully for millennia.
G. David Milton,
Maruthancode
Mr. Rijiju has said that no “genuine” Indian will be left out of the NRC. Who is a genuine Indian? If people have lived in a place for 50 years, are they not genuine? Do they deserve to be called stateless suddenly? Where will they go? Bangladesh is not going to accept these people nearly 50 years after the war. The country just accepted thousands of Rohingya and will not be able to accommodate more people with its limited resources. The government needs to ask itself: if people lived here for almost 50 years and the situation was peaceful until now, how can they suddenly become a threat to national security?
Chaitanya S. Hiwarkar,
Nagpur
New PM, new ties?
It is amusing that hopes about improved relations have sprung up once again (“Will Imran Khan’s win further set back Indo-Pak ties?”, August 3). This optimism is based on wishful thinking, not logic. The fate of India-Pakistan relations has always been dictated by the military in Pakistan, not by its political leaders. Mr. Khan has unwittingly played into the hands of the military. He will also find it difficult to make decisions on his own as he is dependent on smaller parties to stay in power. However, India should engage with Pakistan even if solutions seem elusive.
V. Subramanian,
Chennai
The new government in Pakistan will probably be a greater threat to India than when the army was ruling there. Going by his statements, Mr. Khan does not seem to harbour a friendly attitude towards India the way Nawaz Sharif did. And since Mr. Khan won the election with the support of the army and the ISI, the army will be the real ruler. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will need a novel approach to repair ties.
Y.G. Chouksey,
Pune
It is welcome news that Imran Khan may be extending formal invitations to former cricketers Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Navjot Singh Sidhu, and actor Aamir Khan to attend his swearing-in-ceremony (“Kapil, Sidhu pin hopes on Imran Khan”, August 3). It will be good if the rapport that these cricketers enjoy contributes to improving India-Pakistan ties. Perhaps sportspersons and artists can succeed where politicians have failed.
C.G. Kuriakose,
Kothamangalam
Unsound demand
This is not only unsound but will result in chaos and a waste of paper (“17 Opposition parties want ballot papers back in 2019”, Aug. 3). EVMS are fast, accurate and prevent booth capturing. Ballot papers are cumbersome .
V. Padmanabhan,
Bengaluru
Opposition unity
The Opposition should unite based on the problems of the public and not merely because they want to unseat Prime Minister Narendra Modi (“A basis for Opposition unity”, August 3). It is too early to state that demonetisation and GST were blunders. The Opposition has repeatedly spoken of an intolerant climate, the violence in Bhima Koregaon, etc., but nothing seems to be getting them support. And if Vijay Mallya is back in India in jail, they cannot speak of fugitive economic offenders either. They will have to come up with an alternative agenda.
T.V. Aravind,
Coimbatore
