MyVoice: Views of our readers - 30 Jan

True patriotism includes love of all humanity

People from across the country are protesting the amended Citizenship Act, NRC and NPR vehemently. In every one of these protests, you find people of visibly Muslim identity walking, standing, cheering in the company of non-Muslims, waving the national flag, holding defiant posters opposing division and celebrating our unity and solidarity.

It greatly reassures Muslim citizens that the attempts to reduce them to the orphans of Partition have failed, that millions in this country emphatically reject the divisive imagination for India of the Hindutva right, that this remains the India of Gandhi and Ambedkar, whose pictures are raised high in every protest.

These two leaders together embody both the politics and ethics of the movement stirring India today. There are three icons of every protest – the national flag, the national anthem and the preamble of the Constitution, Medical Mafia

With these, India is reclaiming the idea that to love one's country and one's religion, we don't have to hate any other; that true patriotism and faith include within these the love of all humanity. The running idea of every protest is the idea of solidarity, discovered and expressed by young people in their own ways.

G Hemalatha, Guntur, AP

Congrats, Team India!

Kudos to Team India for an enthralling win in the Third T20 International match and for registering a maiden T20I series victory in the New Zealand as well after beating the Kiwis in a nail biting contest played at the Seddon Park, Hamilton.

After taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the T20I series, the Indian Team has exhibited an absolute dominance over the Kiwis. Opener KL Rahul's consistency both with the bat and the wicket-keeping gloves has made one to consider him as a first choice for the ICC T20 World Cup, 2020 as an opener and a wicket-keeper.

Keeping in view the ICC T20 World Cup which is scheduled to be conducted in Australia this year, the ongoing series in the New Zealand can be considered vital for the Indian Team as the pitch conditions of both the nations are quite similar in terms of bounce.

Although the Men in Blue have clinched the T20I series, the final judgement must be made after the remaining ODI and Test series.

Tushar Anand, Patna, Bihar

Contain medical mafia

This is with reference to the recent news item from the USA regarding how the medical and pharma world has been duping the public and making tons of money for decades on cholesterol. Learned medics like Dr BM Hegde have been educating the masses on this for a while.

Kudos to these warriors! Now we know there is nothing called good or bad cholesterol. Why the governments in India allow such practices is a mystery indeed.

Knee replacements, stents in the heart, BP etc are some more myths they still cash in. Schemes like Arogyasri add fuel to the fire. Can the courts take suo moto cognisance and do something about these mafias exploiting the ordinary people? Let there be light!

Dr V Barla, Hyderabad

Jagan Mohan Reddy, a ruthless ruler who cares people

Though Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has not as much charisma as his legendary father YS Rajasekhar Reddy, he was capable of keeping his party together despite a narrow defeat in 2014 and demands unquestioned loyalty from the rest of the leaders.

Like in any personality-based regional party, there is little space for dissent, and this is a trait Jagan has taken from his father. He has gone after his rivals as ruthlessly as his father went after his, and that is a defining feudal trait that runs in both. Jagan is keen to nurture the pro-poor, hero of the masses image.

Even Jagan's 'padyatra' as an election campaign in 2019, was inspired by the 'padyatra' his father took to capture power in 2004. Like his father, Jagan projected himself as the champion of the poor, and their opponent N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP as 'working for the rich businesses'.

This explains their focus as Chief Ministers on populist schemes and decisions to project the image of a welfare State. One of the flagship schemes that YSR Reddy projected was 'Aarogyasri' or health insurance scheme, and he was keen to ensure — at every stage — not to be seen as 'compromising' on the economically weaker sections to promote economic growth.

Similarly, most of Jagan Reddy's announcements — from the promise of prohibition to holding 'praja darbars' — reveal a similar strategy.

Vinay Bhushan Challa, Kakinada, AP