Missing the point
I am a fan of Scroll.in and love your incisive and balanced insights ("A week on, Punjab's anger over sacrilege cases shows no sign of subsiding"). However, this article left me disappointed by its superficiality. It ignores the possible political underpinnings behind the desecration of the holy book, such as diverting attention from the Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh verdict and the pesticide scam.

Toying with religious sentiments with elections around the corner is an old tactic. Remember the Dera-related unrest of 2010? Everyone knows which religious party benefited from it.
So assuming that the violence would have a negative impact on the Badals' credibility is like showing the possible perpetrator as a victim. This incident is not an embarrassment but a possible political move by the Badals. The article could have analysed the political gains that the incitement of religious sentiments could have on the electoral chances of the incumbent party. Hope you do another followup.  Siddharth




Skewed analysis
KPS Gill has a tainted record. He has been accused of killing innocent youth and wiping out entire families ("KPS Gill: Why obvious religious provocation has succeeded in bringing Punjab to the boil"). What do you expect him to say about the ongoing violence in Punjab? He will take any chance he gets to demonise Punjab's youth and quickly conclude that the Khalistanis are responsible. He will ask for more boots on the ground and push Punjab and its people against the wall yet again.

There is a method to how the Indian media reports about any issues related to Punjab. They bring out all these so-called experts who present only one side of the story. There is never any attempt to know the other side of the story. It's stunning how the international media's coverage of Punjab is far more unbiased.  Gurpreet Multani

Of lazy liberals
You accuse liberals and secular individuals of being too lazy to fight for their ideology ("The Ravish Kumar interview: 'Our lazy liberal class was always opportunistic"). Just as you ran away from social media because of the abuses you received, liberals and seculars are similarly running away from the thuggery of the Hindutva mobs.

India is passing through a phase. When the elite classes and administrators realise that they are on the wrong side of history, then the voices of reason.and wisdom will be heard again.

Germany is still unable to shake off the Nazi past it allowed to flourish. Indian will have a similar fate. It is said that it is futile to reason with anyone in possession of power and wealth.  Sudhir Buch

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What a lovely article. Ravish inspires me to be vocal and participatory. Each one of us has a responsibility to speak out, especially the liberals and moderates. I believe the time has come to speak up for our beliefs and the values that make us who we are.  Shradha Chugh

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No matter what anyone says, India under the Narendra Modi government has been taken over by the RSS. The organisation worked hard to spread hatred for the last 70-80 years. Now, they are pushing India back to 1947, when the country was divided on the basis of religion. Pakistan today is neither geographically nor politically the same as it was in 1947. So it will not take in Indian Muslims.

The only option for Muslims is to accept the RSS' terms and conditions. But we all know they won't do this, as it is better to die than to lose dignity. In such a situation, institutions such as ISIS will get emboldened. The result could possibly be a civil war in the next 5-10 years.  An Indian

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Ravish Kumar is part of the fast disappearing tribe of credible journalists. His in-depth reporting on prime time is much appreciated by a discerning audience. He shows us the inner realities while his counterparts and "experts" on English channels create a cacophony.  Dr Ratna Magotra

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Ravish Kumar is a poorly paid journalist in the same way that the Shiv Sena and the Maharastra Navnirman Sena are secular, the Islamic State is peaceful, Arvind Kejriwal loves Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi is a genius.

He does appear genuine, but his holier-than-thou attitude is sickening. He needs to be reminded that he is a prime example of the lazy liberals he condescendingly denounces.  Jagat Kumar

Both sides to blame
Romila Thapar brilliantly argues that the Sangh needs to stop abusing those who argue against its beliefs and approach ("Romila Thapar: Before anyone can debate the Sangh, it has to stop abusing its opponents"). I would humbly submit that her argument cuts both ways. The liberal left is equally guilty of abusing and dismissing the Sangh's ideology. If they were truly liberal, they would drop the name-calling and indulge in true debate. As things stand, it's a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.  Jagat Rathore

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Romila Thapar needs to be told that the review of textbooks that she so passionately advocates need not be done only by the government. In the age of the Internet, this exercise could be undertaken through crowdsourcing as well.

Thapar and others would need to donate their time and effort to this endeavour. But if she really believes that India and Indians deserve such a review by a panel of historians, economists, sociologists and others, then they need to get together and work independently from the government. The crowd being sourced should be by invite only. Their inputs should be reviewed by their peers before being placed in the public domain.

However, if their recommendations are not accepted by the government in toto, then they should not feel that there is a problem with the government or governance. The focus of the contribution should be about placing views in an open forum accessible to the people.  Ravinder
Celebrating the right way

As the much abused adage goes, there are two sides to every coin ("I am a Bengali – and here’s why I don’t like Durga Puja"). There is always a case for curbing pointless expenditure when it can be used to directly benefit the poor. The capitalist economy is structured in such a way that benefits are provided indirectly to the same people who work to produce the goods and services that a festival of this sort promotes.  Dev




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I am not a Bengali and never have I witnessed Durga Puja. And it really isn't on my list of top things to do. But you certainly are a buzzkill, Oindrila Mukherjee. Your dull, soulless writing almost made me feel as bored as you claim to be while attending a Pujo.  Nivas Lakshminarasimhan

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I live in south India. The problems start with the loudspeakers.Then there's traffic diversions and areas are littered with plastic, banana leaves and food spread over a few kilometres. Pollution occurs in the guise of worship and togetherness. It's all for show. I really wonder how these things can be avoided in India.

Celebrations by Indians abroad remain true to the spirit of the festival without disturbing the neighbourhood. Can we not replicate this in India?  Sundar Raman K


Engineering a crisis
This is an excellent story on the predicament of engineering colleges in Odisha ("Why Odisha’s empty engineering colleges hurt students and not their owners"). However, the article misses out on a couple of points.

While established wealthy promoters of engineering colleges may benefit from long-term real estate appreciation, genuine entrepreneurs who started education ventures with borrowed capital are really struggling. They cannot dispose of their property because of the downturn in the real estate market.

The current dire situation is because of the role or lack of it of state government regulators, apart from rampant corruption and rules that don't make sense.

The excess capacity could be productively used for skill development. But then the same established players are favoured for skill training even when they run multiple shifts.  Dhanada

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Thank you for eloquently presenting the true picture of the state of technical education in Odisha. You have inadvertently excluded the roles played by the All India Council for Technical Education, state government agencies and affiliate universities such as the Biju Patnaik University of Technology in the slow and systematic degradation of technical education in the state.  Dr Asoka Misra

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The problem is not confined to Odisha alone. It's all over the country. Over the last 15 years, engineering colleges have sprung up across the country thanks to relaxation of tax laws, the boom in real estate and black money generated through scams and corruption. These institutions came up with the connivance of owners, universities and government educational bodies.
Recognition norms were flouted in the name of development. But the crucial ratio of demand and supply - very few industries can accommodate these engineers - was not taken care of, resulting in a skewed ratio of more unemployed engineering graduates to employment opportunities in the market.


In the last 30 years, we have developed our IT industry only neglecting infrastructure and manufacturing industries which has resulted in civil, chemical and mechanical engineering graduates either switching to IT after doing these courses or entering another field altogether. Apart from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, no state government has been able to build a robust employment generation structure.


Nobody with money is interested in investing money in the manufacturing industry. Everybody wants to invest in IT, computers and servicing industry. There is no clear government policy as to how they will solve this problem. Therefore , this problem of unemployed engineers and colleges closing down will grow multi-fold in the coming years in every part of India.  Vishal Jindal




Dangerous rhetoric



Rajdeep Sardesai is free to call us names but the general Hindu mindset has understood his game well ("Why Bajrang Dal activist Prashant Poojary's murder can't be compared to the Dadri beef lynching"). The rhetoric created by Sardesai and his ilk is the root cause of terror around the world. The all-pervading murderous attitude is okay for them because they are not victims but indirect supporters.

The net outcome is that there is no reason for them to introspect because they are assured of intellectual backing. These people almost sold the theory that the 9/11 attacks were an American conspiracy. So it comes as no surprise that they compare the Bajrang Dal to Islamic terror groups.  gsl.sushil on email


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This is a coloured version of the story presented by the worst kind of pseudo-secularist. He will even justify the killing of hundreds of innocent people by jihadists in Mumbai and elsewhere.  JR Krishnan

Fake socialists
It's tragic when so-called socialists behave like landlords ("The incredible rise, fall and rise of Lalu Yadav, the man with a health advisory for Narendra Modi"). They cannot a maintain a balance to their religious approach. They never support reformist Muslim organisations but propagate hardcore Muslim fundamentalism, which is why they are pseudo-secular.




Leaders such as Lalu Prasad lack the ability to govern well. He is the king of electoral politics and will be remembered as a joker in India's political history.  Sunil B Kale

Misdirected anger
When the BJP reprimands its motormouth leaders, it asks them to be careful about what they say ("Why reprimands of hatemongers by Shah and Jaitley are completely hollow"). It never thinks to question the attitudes behind the many disturbing statements. What worries them is that the mask has slipped, not the ugly face behind the mask. What concerns them is the negative political effect on their party, not that the sentiments of the people have been hurt and deaths have been caused.

What is frightening is that even the tallest leaders in the BJP are not appalled or even surprised at the vitriolic remarks of their colleagues. They are just mildly embarrassed to have been caught in the company of the bigoted and the uncultured. Hushing it up is the best they can do.  Jyoti Kapadia


Lessons from next door
It seems that our revered Prime Minister assumes too many things without seeing the ground realities ("In Nepal, China’s Himalayan lead has lessons for India's approach to its neighbourhood"). A classic case is our relations with Nepal, which have been steadily deteriorating. We have been foolishly backing the wrong horses. What is the need for meddling with the affairs of a foreign country? Would we ever tolerate any country interfering or even attempting to give us advice on matters of state policy and foreign affairs.  HNS Myer

Sound of silence
It is indeed very painful that our Prime Minister, who always talks big about transforming India and is very vocal on even the most trivial issues, remains quite tongue-tied on issues affecting the secular structure of the nation ("The lesson from Modi’s reaction to Dadri: Don’t ask him to express outrage ever"). He repeatedly turns a blind eye to even the most shocking incidents perpetrated by his own fringe elements.  HNS Myer

The need to progress
It is difficult to believe that we are living in the 21st century ("The incomplete guide to living in Modi's India, as defined by Hindutva apologists"). Every civilisation possesses a glorious past and so does Hinduism. But that does not mean that we should not progress and adopt a scientific approach to life, ushering in development, eradicating poverty and bringing happiness to the people of India.

Regimentation and fundamentalism must be shunned because they are the greatest obstacles to progress. Our Constitution is supreme, providing opportunities to all irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Telling people what to listen to and what to eat is contrary to the Indian philosophies of tolerance and unity in diversity.The government should suppress the damange being done to India's social fabric with a heavy hand.  Kewal Khanna

Taking a stand
A legitimate response should have come from members of the Indian cricket team ("ICC pulls out Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar from India-South Africa series"). They should have collectively said that they would refuse to play if political parties dictate who and who should not umpire or commentate and where matches should or should not be held.

If the Mumbai public had to choose between the Indian cricket team and the Shiv Sena, they would choose the cricketers. It is high time to call the Shiv Sena's bluff and con game.  Asoke Maurya

Apolitical triumph
The Munnar agitation was a bold and successful assertion of women's rights in India ("Reading the tea leaves: What the Indian women's movement can learn from Munnar agitation"). The story needs to be told about how established trade unions tried to interfere with the original movement.

At one point of time, there were fears that the movement would fizzle out with rival camps pitching their bargains, which was exactly what plantation owners and politicians behind the trade unions wanted.

The women's collective at Munnar, which had no political affiliations, demonstrated beyond doubt that when women unite, the world has no option but to take notice. A truly apolitical force can achieve greater good than politically affiliated organisations.  Pradeep Gopalan

Practical civil code
It was refreshing to read Mohan Guruswamy's take on the Uniform Civil Code ("India needs a common civil code rooted in reason, not sentiment"). It is complicated issue, especially from the modern perspective. A lot has changed since independence. The definition of marriage, family and inheritance have undergone changes. The freedom to choose your partner and live together and have a family without being married is also a right of an individual or couple.

Their children have the right to the property of their biological parents. It is also the right of a person to distribute his hard-earned wealth to whomever he wants.

Why should not let a law interfere with the right to exercise a person's will before or after his death. Inheritance laws should only be exercised if a person dies without leaving a will. There seems to be no reason to disallow polygamy if those part of the arrangement have no objection.The state should have no role other than regulating and protecting the right of each participating individual.  Jib