It is a sad thing that a legislator has been assaulted (“Manipur violence: BJP MLA assaulted by mob in Imphal, critical”) but unfortunately, they probably had it coming for setting one people against another and profiting from it. – Alokmay Datta

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As a Meitei, I find this article (“Why Manipur’s tribes are alarmed by court push for Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community”) one-sided and false in many aspects.

1. Within Meitei, there is no general nor EWS [economically weaker section quota]. We are all OBC [Other Backward Classes] or SC [Scheduled Caste]. It’s similar to some Hindus being OBCs and some SC. Meiteis are in itself very diverse. So, the writer stating otherwise should check his facts.

2. This article conveniently does not mention that Meiteis were included in “tribe” in previous census records before 1947. This legitimate ST [Scheduled Tribe] demand is for correcting a historical blunder of removing the Meities from that (Most of the “tribes” from pre-independence census were put in ST list after Independence).

3. Meiteis want to be included in ST list of India not ST list of Manipur, so why should the present Scheduled Tribes of Manipur only compare Meiteis vis-à-vis them? Why not compare Meiteis with all Indian tribals? Then we will see that our demand is not only logical but also necessary.

4. Which state of India has a division that more than 60% of that state population should reside only in 8% of that state’s land? Ninety per cent of Manipur is protected by the Constitution from non-STs. Further anyone in India, including the Scheduled Tribes, can buy and reside in the 8% valley land. How is this situation tenable? Which state of India, nay, the world, has this rule?

5. This is a matter of survival for Meiteis. Railways will be operational in Manipur from 2024. If we don’t have constitutional protection for our lands, we will meet the same fate as indigenous peoples in Tripura and Assam. So to say our demand is a threat to peace of Manipur is akin to saying “let Meities perish since our lands are protected by Article 370 C, we won’t be affected by the incoming of outsiders.”

Also the state government can only send recommendation for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes list. Its actual inclusion will be vetted by ministry of tribal affairs and other central government machineries. If the tribals of Manipur are so sure that our demand is illogical then why are they opposing ? Meiteis don’t control the ministry of tribal affairs.

Last but not the least, when the present Manipuri tribals became STs, did they consult every one from the valley? Did we oppose when you took away 90% of land rights from Manipur? Did we say to maintain peace and integrity and pressure them not to become ST? They should ponder upon these questions. – Alberta Potsangbam

Bastar drone allegations

I remember reading Pandit Nehru’s indignant denunciation of the British Army bombing Afghan villages in the tribal belt over a hundred years ago. It is both sad and ironical to read in the Scroll a report (“Bastar villagers allege aerial bombing by security forces. What is the truth?”) that Adivasis in Bastar allege today that they were subjected to aerial bombardment. – Vithal Rajan

Panaji’s waste revolution

Goa can introduce tourist tax (“Could Panaji’s waste revolution be a blueprint for other Indian cities?”). The residents can be given the option of helping with their tax or claiming refund electronically against proof of residence and travel. – Vijay Lohia

Deleting evolution theory

I refer to “Propaganda’: Minister defends removal of Darwin’s theory of evolution from school textbooks”. We will be doing the greatest disservice to our present generation of students if we scrub remarkable advances is science like, we are now attempting to scrub our history. Among the many revolutionary theories by scientific giants like Einstein’s Relativity, Gregor Mendel’s theory of inheritance, quantum mechanics, or Galileo changing the heliocentric view of the earth, Darwin’s theory of evolution cannot be edited out. These are milestones in the advancement of science.

Darwin, through his theory of evolution that as on date happens to be the only logical explanation of our world, invented the notion that only the fittest survive like Newton insisting apples fall downward rather than rising upward. Two hundred years after Darwin’s path-breaking theory of evolution on the development of life from an ancestor. Darwin’s theory of natural selection caused considerable controversy earlier, his ideas are now accepted as the foundation of all the modern biological sciences including the origin of present Covid pandemic.

Darwinian theory might not have enabled us to see a monkey turned into a man but certainly we do not wish to see a lot of humans turning to monkeys with their pet and unteneble theories on science. – HN Ramakrishna

Reclaiming Hinduism

I request you to go and visit Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and other Muslim countries and study the living status of Hindus and their conditions (“First person: In the battle to reclaim Hinduism from Hindutva, a pilgrimage of love”). I want to ask why Pakistan, having around 20% Hindus before Pakistan Independence, suddenly came to less than 5% and more Hindu temples were attacked, Hindu leaders were killed and many more tortures like kidnapping, forcing girls to convert and so many incidents. Please look into this matter and write an article. – KV Ganesh

The Book of Dals

I decided to purchase the book after having read the article (“A new cookbook takes readers across India using diverse recipes of dals from around the country”) in your publication, and presuming that it would have been vetted for by at least someone with a passing knowledge of the diversity of our culinary landscape. The book is a rip-off. It reeks of bored retired lady with nothing better to do, a teeny tiny collection of dal recipes, and knowing the right people at Penguin.

Indigenous pulses are not fully represented. Recipes from entire regions is missing (Indrahar from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, for example, would have been an amazing addition, or Bhat ki Churkani from Uttarakhand). Editing is poor. The dhansak masala is hilariously missing multiple ingredients. I can go on and on, but that would be belaboring the point, which is – it’s an unresearched poorly written book which should not have seen the light of day, but what can the rich and connected not do. I expect more integrity from Scroll. Please do not disappoint in such a way. – Anirban Chatterje