Rising tide

Samir Halarnkar’s article exposes in no uncertain terms the savagery and moral cowardice that defines India today (“How India reacts to the Kathua perversion will determine if the nation’s moral slide can be arrested”). To be silent now is to concede misogyny and hate as our rightful inheritance – and if we do, what life can we offer our daughters? I expect the streets to fill up now with angry men, not women. Not because they are fathers, brothers, sons, husbands, lovers and friends, but because they are human. Men should find rape even more morally abhorrent than women do, simply because it is a crime that degrades their gender. Even more deafening than that silence is the silence that reveals India’s apathy towards children. The death of a child should bring the nation to a halt, but we barely notice it. “All pity choked with custom of fell deeds” just about describes India today. – Kalpana Swaminathan

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BJP is to be shunned. Only god save India when the government and its agencies break every law and then pose as the most moral people. – R Subramanian

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I am overwhelmed with the idea put forward in the article about the Kathua rape. India needs more such faithful journalism to ride out the slow but steady way to apartheid. Excellent writing with a laudable understanding of the country’s current political state. More such articles are welcome. – Sayani Dey

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If we keep mum on the atrocities perpetrated on innocent children, then we cannot stake claim to a conscience. To be called an Indian in this India is shameful. If we cannot stop our elected leaders from siding with and assisting these heinous rapists then we all deserve the death penalty. Rise up India. Speak up. Save this nation. – Evelyn

Ambedkar and BJP

In the article “Appropriating Ambedkar: Why the BJP is on strong ground in its battle to co-opt the Hindutva critic”, I agree with the author but there is a minor point I must raise. The author states that “one way to gain control of a firm is through a hostile takeover. Christianity and Islam are masters of this mode....”. I believe that the author is coming to this conclusion erroneously. While nations and people professing Christianity have propagated grave crimes throughout history, it is wrong to conclude that these nations or people speak for Christianity. The Bible has never called for a forceful or coercive propagation of Christianity.

Faith in Jesus Christ (to be a Christian) is a personal choice, made by one’s own free will and cannot be arrived at by force or coercion. Also the freedom and the will to choose is fundamental to any human being and is sacred since it is given by god himself. Throughout the Bible’s pages, never do we see any doctrine or historical record where god orders that people of other faith choose to follow the Judeo-Christian god by force, coercion or by deceptive means.

So when the followers of Christianity do end up propagating Christianity by coercive and forceful means and by trampling on the faith of other people, their actions stand in stark opposition to the teaching of Jesus Christ.

So while the author is right concerning that people have forcefully, deceptively or coercively propagated the Christian faith, it is wrong to generalise the actions of a political or national power or church and ascribe the same to the teachings of Christianity. While the author’s intention is genuine and the article about the BJP’s assimilative behavior, it might be possible that some readers might misinterpret these lines (concerning Christianity) to be the teachings of Christianity.

Scroll.in has turned out to be one of the best websites that puts out well researched articles and editorials. I make it a point to read your editorials every day. Keep up the good work! – Justin Ebby

Andhra special status

Please note that Chandrababu Naidu pulled out of the alliance with the BJP not over the special status demand but for his own benefits (“Andhra Assembly passes resolution seeking special Parliament session to discuss Reorganisation Act”). Several times in the past, he had opposed special status. He is working towards it now to cover up his failures. He has let people down. It is because of him that Andhra Pradesh has not got special status yet. – Sreekanth K

Fasting politics

Competitive day-long fasts were held by two major poltical parties of India (“The Daily Fix: Flash fasts are the perfect political idiom for our times”). The Indian National Congress led by Rahul Gandhi earlier sat for a day-long fast that resulted in nothing. And with elections in mind, Prime Minister Modi also planned a day-long fast to protest Parliament disruptions. These leaders must understand that token fasts do not yield results. Their deeds alone will help reform this nation. India is still a developing nation and much more has to be done. We request our national parties to stand up and speak up to bring in real solutions. This blame-game is not helpful to any of us. – Shashidhar Vuppala

Water woes

The water crisis is looming, but hardly anybody is doing anything about it (“With higher temperatures and lower water reserves, India is staring at a summer of crises”). Intellectuals are doing no more than lip service, so please stop quoting them in articles.

The first thing we should change is our lifestyles. A washing machine can be replaced by bare hands, as a start.

In order to sell ourselves a western lifestyle, we have discouraged public ponds and wells. What has that achieved? It killed our habit of using water judiciously. Piped water has made the lives of billions of villagers wretched. They feel ashamed to bathe and excrete in public. But that was a good way to save water.

We need to go back to older lifestyles that were less materialistic, even if that means we earn less, for we also need to consume less. That’s the only way we can save ourselves from the imminent environmental catastrophe. – Pradeep Nayak

Judicial crisis

This is disgraceful and a threat to the independence of the judiciary, the backbone of a free and civilised society (“Judiciary’s independence is under threat, says SC judge as Centre sits on collegium’s recommendation”). What is happening is very scary and must be countered in the interests of democracy and the independence of the judiciary. – Syloo Matthai

Pollution woes

Thank you Vinita Govindarajan and Scroll.in for writing about the true face of the protests and the pollution caused by the copper plant in the surrounding villages in Tuticorin district (“‘Every house has a sick person’: Why people in Tuticorin are opposing Vedanta’s copper smelter”). I’m also from Tuticorin, working in Chennai as an engineer in a private firm. I don’t have any respiratory problems until and unless I’m in my hometown. From the first day of my trip to the very the last day in Tuticorin, I’m forced to take the medication for wheezing! But I don’t have this problem when I’m in Chennai or Mumbai! Clearly, Sterlite is a threat to people around it. – Michael

Poetic praise

Your article on Robert Frost’s poetic endeavours was mesmerising (“Why we must not forget Robert Frost when we read modern poetry. He made the everyday extraordinary”). I am a student and an ardent admirer of literature. Not only are all your articles informative, but also fine examples of journalism. If literature is a vast ocean, the depths of which I aspire to fathom, I just hope I chance upon more of such wonderful articles from Scroll.in. Keep up the good work! – Sneha Das