Editor,
Of late there has been a lot of brouhaha regarding the national anthem. A few movie-goers in Mumbai were harassed for not standing up during the anthem after the movie. There was a lot of noise when a section of the crowd failed to stand up at the North East Police Academy when the national anthem was played after a parade. I think we Indians, specially the more bigoted ones tend to overdo their display of patriotism. I would we much rather show it in our day to day conduct. This reminds one of an occasion when the then British prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and lady Churchill landed at a Swedish airport and the band readied to play the British national anthem as protocol demanded. The crowd stood up. The band struck up a tune. But it was not to play the British national anthem. Instead it played, ‘ Oh my darling Clementine’! You see lady Churchill’s’ name was – you guessed it- Clementine! Is there a lesson in it somewhere for some of us?
Yours etc.
Lt. Col. ( retd.) Anjan Datta,
Via email
Meddling with the syllabi
Editor,
An unacceptable educational incident has been happening in the Communist led state of Tripura. The latest syllabus for class IX prescribed by the Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) has no mention of Indian history. The syllabus has actually included sections of European history that highlight communist ideologies and revolutionary aspects of world history to cater to the agenda of brainwashing young students towards communist ideologies. The erstwhile communist government of West Bengal also followed similar principle of brain washing students at primary, secondary and tertiary levels to produce dedicated party cadres by highlighting pro-communist contents in the syllabus. Such actions of different ruling political parties at various times on the education sector is highly condemnable and dangerous for the nation. Students are the citizens of tomorrow. They should be allowed to grow up with an all round educational training and should be allowed to be mature enough later in life to choose and decide their political affiliations. Brain washing students for political benefits is a dangerous trend and should be prevented with appropriate legislations and mass awareness. A free mind is important for any nation to make progress; any attempts to influence those minds should be prevented democratically with long term sustainable solutions.
Yours etc.,
Saikat Kumar Basu
Lethbridge AB Canada T1J 4B3
Dirty politics
Editor,
Politics is truly getting very murky. The comments by a former Congress Minister of Assam about Smriti Irani being the second wife of Narendra Modi is a slur, not on Irani but on Nilamoni Sen Deka who uttered those despicable comments at a public meeting. People like Sen Deka should remember that Sonia Gandhi the Congress leader is a woman too. Would the Congress tolerate anyone saying anything slanderous against Sonia Gandhi? Would the Congress Party workers not be out on the streets if such a thing happened? Alas! The BJP in Meghalaya seems to be ina slumberous mood. Not a word of condemnation has been heard against the Congress’s character assassination of a sitting minister of the central government. This is outrageous and it also shows that the BJP has no foothold in Meghalaya. It seems like a dying party with old hags who are like dogs in the manger who will not let new blood be transfused into the Party.
Yours etc.,
D Lyngdoh,
Via email