Naming accused is petitioner’s wish
I think this story about Sonakshi Sinha is written to create a controversy about something that might not deserve it ("Sonakshi Sinha conspicuously missing from FIR against AIB Roast"). Also, naming the accused is the petitioner's wish and will. It might be his political inclination but surely doesn't show "power of the powerful". I'm not a NaMo fan nor do I like the Sinhas. I don’t quite understand why people write such stories and not let things be. ‒ Arahant Jain

India has no independent foreign policy
I just wonder what India will contribute if it joins the UN Security Council ("China may back India for UN Security Council membership"). It has been a marginal player in international affairs all along. It has no distinguished diplomats and has displayed no great gift for discourse and debate in English. And worse still, it has no independent foreign policy of its own ‒ it generally bows down to whatever the United States of America says. ‒ Eddie Ray

AAP win is victory of an idea
The main reason why the Delhi election result is so special is because, more than the victory of a party, this is the victory of an idea ("The AAP Sweep: nine charts that explain the Delhi poll results"). An idea that it is possible to win elections in India without having a specific surname or overtly or covertly supporting religious extremism; an idea that elections can, in fact, be won by providing robust and practical solutions to the problems that people have to grapple with; an idea that votes can be won without resorting to comparisons between the so-called 'ramzadas and haramzadas'; an idea that you don't have to be an arrogant narcissist or an incompetent, albeit well-meaning, Gandhi to woo voters and, above all, an idea that political discourse in this country can be restructured to reflect people's hopes and aspirations as opposed to their basest fears.

Delhi voters have given the AAP more than it could have ever asked for. Now, it is incumbent upon the AAP to translate the poetry of their promising election campaign into the prose of effective governance. Only then will they be able to ensure that the political slogan of '5 saal Kejriwal' doesn't remain just that. ‒ Rahul Bajaj

More important issues need to be discussed
I agree with Jose Covaco wholeheartedly. ("Open letter to the Archbishop of Mumbai by a Catholic comedian: I wish we had turned the other cheek") There should be no censorship of any kind. If you don’t like something, don’t view/read it. There are more important issues that need to be discussed. Only insecure people are ultra-sensitive. ‒ Udai Matthan

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With you all the way. ‒ John Dennis

Holocaust was mass murder with intent to annihilate a religion
With regard to your article about the Holocaust ("How India and China explain the Holocaust to school kids"), I know the brutality that the Jews faced at the hands of the Nazis, I also know of the brutality that the Bengalis faced at the hands of the British ‒ ever hear of the Bengal famine? I've also known about the Goan inquisition, and barbarism of the Turkic raiders in Nalanda, and in Madurai, in Srirangam my ancestors are believed to have been refugees, fleeing the attacks of Malik Kafur, the homosexual consort of Allaudin Khilji. I also know of the letters written by Gandhi to the Jews, I also know of what Nehru did to Israel. Marxist hermeneutics affects us all, and folk who gladly support that, which is fashionable to say in the Occident, and demonise everything that which is not, have done a great disservice to us all.  ‒ Akshay Srinivasan

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Yet, history books in the US make no mention of the starvation of over four million Indians when Winston Churchill turned his back and refused to help during their great famine. ‒ Daniel Sokol

Established political parties being wiped out of polls is democracy's win
The feeling that we are witnessing history unfold is unanimous ("AAP victory: It feels a reset button has been pressed on Indian democracy"). To think of established parties being wiped out of an election in the national capital is a fair win for democracy in our mad country. It’s a testament to the fact that the compromised system can be ethically broken into and the power is always with the people, if they choose to use it. Delhi should be treated as an experiment. Whether grassroot governance works with a corrupt bureaucracy, whether corruption itself can be eradicated with intensive monitoring, there are a lot of questions these five years will answer. If this AAP-Delhi model works, a large number of cities in India and countries in South Asia would have found a formula to break out of the downward spiral they are in. ‒ Shreya Chatterjee

Free speech not license to be openly racist
As a regular reader of your blog, which I find leaning on the sensible and rational side often, I was disappointed to note the articles on AIB missed the "free speech is not the license to be openly racist" point. Almost in the way that newspapers that covered Charlie  Hebdo ("All India Bakchod gets roasted for apology to Catholic church"). ‒ Aruna Rajan

Crude attempt by IAS to subjugate judiciary
This is a crude attempt of the Indian Administrative Service and their accomplice, the criminal politicians, to subjugate the judiciary. We Indians must never fall for it under any circumstance ("Unless Supreme Court hears pleas on judicial appointments, India's litigation system could collapse"). ‒ Man Haq

Will the government take land back from closed B-schools?
Earlier reports too have mentioned B-schools and engineering/medical schools shutting down. ("India’s B-schools are shutting down faster than ever before") What will now be interesting is to find out about the land that probably would have been given at subsidised rates to the owners by the government. Will the government take the land back and charge the full rate instead of the education subsidy (or whatever it’s called)? Or will the land be converted into luxury housing societies? With your investigative and data prowess, a report from Scroll.in would be much appreciated. ‒ Ranjita Menon

Article on Mugabe is in poor taste
Your article on Robert Mugabe is in poor taste ("Zimbabwe's Mugabe falls and nearly breaks the internet"). Clearly your writer is an ignorant fellow who does know the history of Zimbabwe and Mugabe’s place in it. Mugabe may have overplayed his hand and indulged in vote-rigging but he remains the original hero of Zimbabwe.

Britain and her Anglo friends cannot stand Mugabe for reclaiming the land they had grabbed and silly Scroll merely reproduces their bigotry and racism in cartoons. Sadly, Indian elites, a pusillanimous lot, always play safe by staying on the side of the West. ‒ Eddie

Many states likely to improve performance
Yes, these six points are true ("Six lessons in ‘affordable politics’: AAP victory shows how elections can be fought on a shoestring"). Apart from Arvin Kejriwal, his team had data and figures of his 49-day performance and assurances in the 70-point manifesto at the tip of their tongue. That helped the common man understand. Another positive impact would be that now many states would be on alert and are likely to improve their performance. ‒ Deepak Uparkar

Aamir Khan needs to stop pretending he's perfect
Thank you for writing this ("Why did Aamir Khan tick off AIB comedians? After all, he produced lewd song Bose DK"). I was waiting for someone to write something that was not too harsh and not too meek and this was it. I am a huge Ranveer Singh fan (pun not intended) and I watched the roast in parts (YouTube is banned in Pakistan) on dailymotion. Even though I did feel that the language was a little too crude at times, the fact that those two had the audacity and the courage to take on so many people who knew exactly what they were going to say just goes to show why they are loved so much (perfect smile and hot bod notwithstanding). Aamir Khan needs to stop pretending that he is perfect and realise that at times one needs to laugh at one’s self without any shame to feel good about all that is wrong with the world. ‒ Sadaf Zubair

No description about AAP’s woman member
Why is there no description of the work by the woman member? It’s as if the columnist forgot in the middle that she too must have had some role ("Meet the dynamic dozen who helped AAP's ragtag band defeat the mighty BJP army"). ‒ Rashmi

Bias on political matters is old hat
Bias one way or the other on matters 'political' is old hat. Absence of mention in other media, of the 'instances' cited by the author, may be perceived as 'positive' bias in favour of the Trinamool Congress. And as a discerning reader, one could also ask ‒ what is the colour of the hand that feeds you ("Fiery battle between ABP Group and Mamata leaves a smile on BJP’s face")? ‒ Raghavendra Pattabhi

Nemade must exercise restraint
Bhalchanda Nemade should exercise restraint. ("Trashed by Jnanpith winner Nemade, Salman Rushdie hits back (without mincing his words)") ‒ Shyamal Mazumder

Look forward to more book reviews
Loved you piece on travel books. ("Five must-read travel books about India") I am one of those people who loves travel books. As a PhD student, I have little time for fiction and other non-academic genres but do make time when on a flight. Will certainly buy these for myself and as gifts. ‒ Jaya

Verify facts before throwing accusations
This author has not followed one of the important rules of journalism in your story: verify facts before accusing an individual or group of a crime. Does Scroll want to lose credibility by allowing such communal people to write for it ("Delhi church vandalism and attack on AAP betray the same fingerprints: those of the BJP")? ‒ Manoj Nair

Doctor accessible offer only applied to journalists
Dr Charan Singh, Additional Director of Public Health's offer to be accessible, I suppose, applies only to journalists. ("How I survived swine flu and Delhi’s poor public health system") My daughter tested positive for swine flu (you are right about the Rs 9,000 diagnosis fee) but since the test was done at Dang's Lab in Hauz Khas (not a hospital), I am just unable to get Fluvir ... I'm a senior citizen (72) running from pillar to post with no success. ‒ Satish Kalra

Politicians think support from Imam will boost secular colour
The story about Shahi Imam's support shows the true picture. As the author rightly mentioned, it’s the fault of political parties seeking Imams support from Delhi to Chennai. Politicians think that this will boost their secular colour. Unfortunately this is a curse in disguise ("Why the Shahi Imam wants the AAP to win [hint: it has nothing to do with the BJP or Muslims]"). ‒ Hari Das

Only AAP can provide strong balance
An excellent piece by Rohan Venkataramakrishnan ("If Delhi exit polls are accurate, AAP has just upended our idea of India under Modi"). We need a strong balance which the AAP can provide. The Congress is down and out and no visible signs they will ever recover, especially with their fascination for Rahul Gandhi as leader. ‒ Raymond Albert Fernandes

Women in combat may be too emotional
The reason for women not being allowed in combat roles is very simple ("Women soldiers: if the boot fits, why shouldn’t they wear it?"). They are too emotional. As our male soldiers and officers are sex-starved, they might end up raping them or use them under orders. But married men see them as sisters and daughters and won’t reveal their vulgar faces. Also, the opponent would prefer to kidnap them instead of fighting. Finally, the women’s traditional families will not believe that they are as holy as the Ganga. Otherwise, death is the the same for both the X and Y chromosome. ‒ Pratmann

Can we expect any real action?
This news depicts our dear Indian citizens’ culture of ‘forget and forget’ till someone wakes up once again to read things between the lines ("Ambanis are most prominent names on list of Swiss account holders revealed in Express investigation"). But can we expect real action in confiscating all their properties amassed till this second and make the nation rich and help the poor middle, upper middle class without any taxes for the next ten years? — Srinivasan

I met Papa Tau Moe and Dorian Moe
I was reading the article about Bridget Moe and felt really great ("Bridget Moe, the last link in a sublime musical loop between Hawaii and India, passes away"). I met Papa Tau Moe and Dorian Moe in February 2004, and played a concert for him and his village in Laie. It was a big achievement for me to award him and being able to make the full cycle of Hawaii-India-Hawaii just before he passed away. ‒ Debashish Bhattacharya

Delhi polls signal to BJP that they have to shed arrogance
The return of AAP in Delhi will have repercussions in the whole country ("Modi might have bought his way to the front pages, but AAP grabbed all the headlines without spending a dime"). It is a signal to the BJP leaders and workers that they have to shed their arrogant behaviour if they want to keep their grip intact among the masses. Negative campaigning will not always give positive results, especially where one has a potent opponent. It is high time now that the BJP soften its benign attitude towards big corporates and changes its stance on economic fronts; which is sympathetic to the poor. Only then "Sabka Vikas" and "Achhe Din" will happen, about which PM only speaks in his speeches. ‒ Shivendra Bisht

Hundreds of students marched in defence of their democratic rights
The meeting scheduled in JNU happened successfully with a huge support and solidarity of common students and other student organisations and JNUSU.  After the two hour-long meeting, those many hundred students marched in the campus in defence of their democratic rights and spaces ("At Mumbai's TISS and Delhi's JNU, human rights activists are prevented from speaking"). ‒ Reyazul Haque

Fifty Shades of Grey is about gendered violence
I am glad Fifty Shades of Grey will not make it to India by Valentine's Day ("'Fifty Shades of Grey' won't get to Indian theatres in time for Valentine's Day"). It is about gendered violence and not love! Many protests are being held in the USA about its release on Valentine's Day by feminists and socially conscious organisations. ‒ Huma Ahmed Ghosh

Thailand means mother land in Tamil
I wish to share my views about the Tamilians maritime traders’ story. The name Thailand ‒ Thai means Mother and Land is Naadu ‒ means Mother Land in Tamil. Also, I was once in Bangkok on April 14, the Tamil New Year and found that even there, the people were celebrating the day by throwing colour and water spray guns on those who came their way, just like we do in our villages ("Step aside, Gujaratis: Tamilians were India's earliest recorded maritime traders"). ‒ G Anand