No to ‘love thy neighbour’
The report, “Residents oppose allotment of flat under CM scheme to a Muslim woman in Gujarat” (Inside pages, June 15), was shocking. There appears to be a weakening of secularity in present-day Indian society. Such a scenario threatens the amicable co-existence of many.
Chetan Datta Poduri,
Hyderabad
It was painful to read that several residents were against the allotment of the flat to the woman. Is Indian society getting balkanised on the basis of caste and religion? Where are we headed? One hopes that the Vadodara Municipal Corporation and saner representatives will prevail upon the residents and convince them that we are all Indians and need to co-exist peacefully.
C.S. Ravikumar,
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
State of welfare schemes
A prominent leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, while campaigning in Attur, Salem, recently, said that “Telangana and Karnataka have adopted the Chief Minister’s free breakfast scheme for students”. The leader added, “Besides other States, Canada President Justin Trudeau had hailed it as the best scheme and declared its implementation in their country.” One wonders whether the leader knew that the meal scheme was introduced by the leaders, K. Kamaraj and M.G. Ramachandran, who expanded it. The report, “Everyone loves a hot, cheap meal” (Tamil Nadu, June 16), on the state of the Amma Canteens under the DMK regime, was an eye-opener. It is clear that the poor have been affected. If this is the state of the Amma canteens — a scheme by the DMK’s political rival — one wonders what state the DMK’s schemes are in.
N. Mahadevan,
Chennai
Travel notes
The same and embarrassing situation arose when I travelled with my son on a direct flight from Mumbai to San Francisco to meet my granddaughter. It was a short trip.
Being a senior citizen, my seat had been booked in premium economy class, while my son was in economy. Two young lady students, who were pursuing an educational course in the United States, were seated next to me. One of the girls asked me whether I could sit in the middle section so that they could sit together. Given my age — I am 87 years old — and being a very long flight, I politely said, “Very sorry, a window seat will be very comfortable for me.” After reaching San Francisco, I was surprised to know that the two girls were close friends of my granddaughter! An “unexpected connection amid the clouds” (‘Open page – Magazine’, June 16).
D. Sethuraman,
Chennai
