These stories bear no resemblance to the plight being faced by Hindus in Bangladesh (“Assam’s nowhere people: 24 hours to leave India, tossed back and forth across Bangladesh border”). Focus on those stories and their pains to create international awareness. – Subrata Dutta

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Why are you trying to generate sympathy for illegal migrants usurping the resources of India? – Subhash Singh

Double standards in article about lynchings in India

The article rightly condemns mob violence but applies an uneven and misleading lens (“Violence against Hindus in Bangladesh should spark outrage – as should mob lynchings in India”). In India, lynching is a punishable offence under Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and such acts are not sanctioned by the state or Hindu religion. Courts have taken cognisance of lynching cases, and arrests and convictions have occurred.

The article repeatedly links mob violence in India to Hindu majoritarianism and Hindutva while treating violence against Hindus in Bangladesh as the actions of mobs rather than a reflection of Islam or Muslim society. This double standard generalises Hindu identity while isolating Muslim perpetrators elsewhere.

Mob violence in India has affected Hindus, Muslims, Dalits, migrants and Christians, often driven by misinformation, local crime suspicion or mob psychology rather than religious ideology alone. Presenting Hindus as the dominant causal factor is an oversimplification unsupported by comprehensive data.

Condemning violence is necessary, but attributing criminal acts to a religious community distorts facts and deepens communal division instead of addressing the real issue: law enforcement failure and mob criminality. – Manoj Kumar

Shelters won’t help stray dogs

This is such an important article and one I dearly hope is listened to by those that decide on policy in India. My time in India and many other countries across the globe, has shown time and time again that the resources needed to have a good standard of shelter care for dogs' long term, costs significantly more than animal birth control approaches.

Unfortunately, many shelters are already overcrowded, and adoptions rates are falling with cost-of-living challenges. This approach to removing dogs from the street feels very similar to the knee-jerk reaction of banning certain breeds in the UK: it simply does not address the core issues, but political parties are able to say they have done something swift to tackle the issues.

This is not an India-specific issue as there are shelters all over the world that do not have the resources to maintain the dogs in their care to a standard that most would be comfortable with.

There are, of course, exceptions, and I have visited shelters in India that were fantastic at caring for the dogs, but I do not believe that these shelters would be the norm as new shelters are built and the numbers of dogs’ increase. I truly hope people like Elly Hiby and all those working to educate decision makers are listened to. – Steve Goward

Article on stray dogs has ‘vested interests’

The author is peddling a false narrative (“From scavengers to territorial animals: Can India’s stray dogs co-exist with humans for much longer?”). Why is Scroll publishing this article with vested interests? As journalists, you should look into the article, the methodology and sample size of the studies carried out. – Abhiroop Banerjee

Stray dogs in Bengaluru locality

I have been a dog lover for many years and firmly believe that animals should be looked after with compassion. But the stray dog situation in North Bengaluru in Jakkur has me worried and sleepless – literally.

A pack of eight stray dogs roams outside the building at night, making it challenging to catch a late-night flights or early-morning trains. The dogs howl loudly through the night, making it impossible to sleep. Request for sterilising and vaccinating the dogs have not been met with success, and two puppies, born after we moved to this area, are now grown dogs adding to the sound and the threat.

Recently, these dogs surrounded my elderly parents as we were trying to get out of the car and we needed help from nearby shop owners to enter the building. Those living in a gated societies may not face these problems, for residents of individual apartments, the pack of dogs roaming outside has begun to create fear. There must be an administrative solution to this issue, one that bears the safety of citizens while also being considerate of the animals. I request the local corporation to take appropriate action. – Rashmi Mehta

‘Autobiography’ of a 94-year-old

It was so heartwarming to read this excerpt, especially as a Malayali brought up in Maharashtra (“Fiction: At ninety-four, a retired engineer writes his third and, as he insists, final autobiography”). Marathi is very close to my heart and this is an evocative translation. I would love to read its Marathi version as well. – Anju Joy

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This was a touching and well-written article, despite the author’s age of almost 94. I, too, am almost 94. Congratulations to Rajendra for his article. – John Samuel

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This was a great and interesting article. l would love to read the full “autobiography”. – A Sasikanth Satakarni