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7

Keep vigil

China’s aggressive posture, in the wake of worldwide condemnation of its mishandling the virus outbreak, is testimony to the fact that it believes in bullying other nations (‘Unquiet heights’, June 7). President Xi Jinping thinks that China’s territorial aggrandisement may please the Chinese and they will believe that China is the world’s most powerful nation.

 

China’s policy has always been to contain India’s economic surge. That some countries were pitching India as an alternative to the Chinese supply chain was the root cause of China’s border transgressions.

 

So far, India has read between the lines and has not given in to the temptation of paying back China in its own coin.

 

India is surrounded by Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka who keep posing hurdles in its path to development. So, for India, a tight-rope walk is what looks right.

 

Ashok Goswami,

On email.

 

China should stop provoking India in the manner it is doing now. India should stick to its position and teach the Chinese a lesson, as they have started behaving like goons.

 

China should stop the bullying behaviour. Post Covid, they are the most hated nation in the world. It should know well that such a tag will do more harm than good.

 

Tapesh Nagpal,

On email.

 

Heart-rending images

Your photo-feature (‘Mother of all journeys’, June 7) has vividly portrayed the plight of thousands of migrants who, bereft of jobs, income and shelter, were left with no option but to trek hundreds and even thousands of miles to reach their villages from where they had migrated to the cities in search of jobs.

 

One is unable to fathom the extent of the naïveté of a government that, perhaps, in the first place, thought that millions of migrant labourers never existed. Or even if they did, they could weather the storm and last the two-month-long lockdown without even a morsel of food to eat or a roof over their heads.

 

By the time the government came to grips with the problem, thousands of migrants undertook the journey on foot, some perishing on the way and some run over by trains.

 

C.V. Aravind,

On email.

 

A picture speaks a thousand words. Eight black-and-white photographs by Bhanu Prakash Chandra, depicting the ‘mother of all journeys’ of migrants, showed their determination and desperation to reach their native places, against all the odds.

 

It took me to scenes of partition, when lakhs of people crossed the border for survival.These pictures have left me in tears, with a lump in my throat. What cannot be cured must be endured.

 

Parthasarathy Mandadi,

On email.

 

Alliance won’t last

The alliance in Maharashtra is not going to last. The power tussle between the governor and the chief minister will continue till the day this government lasts (‘Vanity fair’, June 7). The Maharashtra government has failed miserably in containing the virus in Mumbai, Pune and other parts of the state.

 

The Maha Vikas Aghadi is sure to collapse in a year or two.

 

Vikas Asthana,

On email.

 

Tough task for Mamata

Things do not look rosy for Mamata Banerjee (‘Triple trouble’, June 7). West Bengal, already fighting a grim battle against Covid-19, has to contend with the destructive aftermath of cyclone Amphan.

 

Mamata’s appeal for a relief package, in the wake of the cyclone, has resulted in a generous and prompt response from Narendra Modi. With state elections not too far away, all political parties in the state are treading carefully.

 

The state government has not covered itself in glory while tackling the pandemic, and the BJP is gleefully pointing at the lapses. Mamata, the street fighter that she is, will have to be at her fighting best to keep a resurgent BJP at bay.

 

Vipul Pande,

Nainital, Uttarakhand.

 

More to be revealed

It is a mystery that the recovery rate in Sweden has remained at such a low level for a long time when the public health system is not overwhelmed (‘An unusual cult figure’, March 31).

 

It is a question mark how Sweden has achieved higher immunity rate. In the absence of a vaccine, we can talk of herd immunity, which can be achieved when at least 60 per cent of the population gets infected. So far, only 0.35 per cent of the population has been infected.

 

Pankaj Kumar
Chatterjee, Kolkata.

 

 

Good read

Swara Bhasker’s narration of her meeting with the young impoverished migrant girl, caught in the vortex of the lockdown, made for a compelling read (‘Put yourself in their shoes’, June 7). It is depressing to read about the hand-to-mouth existence of the migrants; for them even a pair of slippers is a luxury.

 

I hope the girl would not be forced to abort her dreams, because the odds are that she will be burdened with the responsibility of running the household, and performing domestic chores, at the cost of her personal well-being and growth.

 

Varsha V. Shenoy,

On email.