Repression
Arbitrary arrests, with scant regard to the rules of the game, incarceration on flimsy and unproven grounds, and a high level of intolerance have become the order of the day in India today. The inability of the government to stomach even the slightest criticism of its policies or its leadership is amply manifest in the goings-on in the country today and it certainly does not augur well for the future as dissent is a sine qua non in a vibrant democracy. The first term of office of this NDA government (2014-2019) was infinitely better than the second term, that has witnessed among other things, the reduced stature of Parliament and the passing of draconian laws by the Centre and the States where the BJP is in the saddle. The only silver lining is that the government’s all-out-bid to stifle dissent has not really succeeded.
C.V. Aravind,
Bengaluru
Many Indians have voted for the BJP in the hope of living better and enjoying key rights as enshrined in the Constitution. But the government seems to be leading India toward some kind of a dictatorship. Actions now amount to subjugating if not terrorising us into not expressing displeasure of the style of governance.
C. Sachidananda Narayanan,
Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu
By declaring your stand in its Editorial (February 16), is not The Hindu taking a unilateral stand, and not giving the law-enforcing authorities the space and the time to prove their case? After all, this does not come under the count of regular cases. This does not behove the paper’s standards. I call for a course-correction here.
S. Hariharan,
Bengaluru
Missing censor
While the line between vulgarity and sensuality is very thin, the content on popular OTT platforms seems to have erased that line in many instances. There appears to be no censor; the language used in content is shocking. If this goes unregulated, children are bound to be affected as they could think it is fine to use unparliamentary language.
Satish Reddy Kanaganti,
Nalgonda, Telangana
At Chepauk
The ruthless demolition of England, notwithstanding the ignominious defeat suffered by Team India, against the same adversary at the same venue in the First Test, holds testimony to the steely determination of our players to bounce back. What stands out in this team has been the ability of our players to rise to the occasion in crunch situations. The star studded performance of R. Ashwin — others include Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Axar Patel — would certainly be savoured for a long time.
B. Suresh Kumar,
Coimbatore
