MyVoice: Views of our readers 9th September 2020

A proud moment for India

India has achieved great success in the world of missile technology. This is a proud moment. This is a huge victory for India. India has successfully tested the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), which has increased the tension of China and Pakistan. Now India will soon be able to make hypersonic missiles.

Seeing the dream of building the world's largest navy, both China and its 'Iron Brother' Pakistan are very bad news. India has become the fourth country after Russia, China and America to develop its own hypersonic technology.

China and Pakistan may not consider India as before in 1962, now India has not been the same as before.

Now the government is more focused on security and In Defence Sector and there are restrictions in the area related to security. In the last few years, much attention has been given to the field of security. Now Pakistan and China should understand that now India is able to answer them face to face. We can see an example of this, for the last three months India has not retreated from Ladakh nor India has retreated from Pangong Lake.

For three months continuously, China has been trying to scare India, but now China should change its strategy because now India is not one of those who are afraid, but will give a befitting reply and Pakistan should not take any action against India even by mistake also. Because it is hundreds of steps backwards from India in all areas of India and Pakistan moves ahead with the help of China, Pakistan is handicapped and dependent on China and has to resort to China everywhere.

Neha Jamal, Punjab

Nutrition is social responsibility

The Prime Minister has mentioned about the importance of nutrition. While welcoming this gesture it is disappointing that no scheme is talked about to improve nutrition among crores of rural mothers and children except recommending sharing recipes. People have adequate knowledge about recipe but what is needed is materials. India is living with the dubious distinction of having the maximum number of malnourished children in the world.

India has a lot of surplus grains getting for in stock points. Corona has worsened the situation with jobs stripped off, waves denied and governments remaining inactve on this issue. Instead of lecture if viable programme is introduced to address this issue it will go a long way in solving the burning issue at an early date.

Spending on improving the nutritional status of mothers and children should not be viewed as waste expenditure but as an inevitable social responsibility. It should also be borne in mind that healthy children can ensure better productivity of the nation in future. Let a viable programme be drafted and introduced to uplift the nation out of the prevailing shame.

A G Rajmohan, Anantapur

An inspiring role model

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has joined few who donated dead bodies and eyes of their near-ones for use of others and medical-research when body of his mother who died on September 6 was donated to Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) and eyes at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at New Delhi.

Earlier also there have been eminent personalities like former Delhi BJP Chief Mangeram Garg, former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee, former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, Captain Laxmi Sahgal, Anil Biswas, Vishnu Prabhakar etc whose dead bodies were donated to medical-college for research by their near ones.

Central and state governments should think over some honour for such noble departed souls whose bodies are donated for welfare of mankind to encourage the trend. Likewise eye-donation after death should be encouraged through some special honour.

For others, environmental-friendly electric and CNG cremation should be encouraged like was done for recently departed former President Pranab Mukherjee and earlier in case of former Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dixit. Even eminent non-Hindu personalities like former Vice President M Hidayatullah, renowned AIR news-reader and commentator Melville de Mellow was done through electricity rather than burial.

China has already banned burial of dead bodies for people of all religions to save land being converted into grave-yards. Corona-virus has already developed need of cremation of dead bodies rather than burial. Since people follow political leaders as their role-models, rule should be made that state-honour may be given only to those who are cremated through electricity or CNG or their bodies are donated.

System will automatically eliminate demand for making samadhis or graves for departed leaders which unfortunately become a craze for family-members of deceased leaders like was in case of short-term Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral. Once the phenomenon becomes popular, wood-fired cremation or burial will become a forgotten phenomenon of past.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal, Delhi

Religious politics in full display

Apropos to the letter "Mandir,Masjid and new Church (THI 8 Sep). Irrespective of the historical background behind a place of worship in Secretariat, the educational institutions are considered as temples of learning, parliament/assemblies are temples of democracy, judiciary temple of "Justice" and therefore any place of work whether government or private should be treated as "temple of work" and those who work consider their work as "worship".

Obviously there was politics behind shrines inside the secretariat and when the old secretariat was demolished by default the shrines got demolished and the matter should have ended. Where is the consensus on this issue? MIM, BJP and Congress started creating controversy and KCR instead of standing firm added Church as well when there no demand from any state government employees.

N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

Hindutva parties fight each other

The spat between award-winning actress Kangana Ranaut and Shiv Sena has taken an ugly turn. It is unfolding as a sub plot to the main Sushant case fought along political lines. The actress has got Y+ security cover from the central government in the wake of exchange of barbs between her and the Shiv Sena. She is widely perceived to be a tool of the BJP; she has become a pawn in the political battle between Shiv Sena and BJP.

Her love of BJP is as clear as its defence of her. She has been a vocal supporter of BJP and her statements easily jibe with BJPs interests. She is no stranger to controversies. Her comparison of Mumbai to PoK and Shiv Sena to Taliban has provoked the Shiv Sena to retaliate in style and call her "dramebaazi". It has characterized her as a "mental", accused her of ingratitude to Maharashtra and called for framing charges against her for treason. Women Shiv Sena party workers have vented their anger by hitting her posters with slippers.

Kangana has stated that 'daughters of India won't forgive you' and left us to wonder if she was referring to the injustice to her or her new-found arch rival Rhea Chakraborty. Even while investigation was underway the actress concluded that Sushant's death was a murder. Shiv Sena has tried to corner BJP by asking it if it would give security to Dawood leaving the public to draw their inference.

It is still a developing story, as is clear from the video posted by the actress in buttress her claim that her office was invaded by BMC and police and it might be razed.

Whatever the rights and wrongs, the coming days must pass off without incident. We are all first and foremost compatriots despite our differences. It is interesting that both BJP and Shiv Sena are Hindutva-oriented parties now at each other's throats.

G.David Milton, Maruthancode, Kanyakumari