India’s China ties
There is a lack of transparency on the part of the government in power, on the Line of Actual Control tensions and India’s relationship with China (Editorial, “Elusive consensus”, July 28). The government only seems keen on projecting gestures of courtesy and other simple things as achievements by the government and the top leader — an example is the publicity around how “The Prime Minister of Australia calls the India leader ‘Boss’, the President of America telling him that he is ‘globally powerful’ and other utterances or gestures by other world leaders. What about sharing with the country what the reality is at the LAC? Or what the political stand of the government is? Are these not more serious matters? Many feel that the government is clueless about what is to be done.
M.D. Ravikanth,
Chennai
As a great power in the ascendancy, China, will, for all practical purposes, want to keep India occupied in its own neighbourhood so as to secure its own steady rise in the comity of nations. With the centre of gravity in international relations already shifting to the Indo-Pacific, India needs to have a consistent strategy in dealing with the rise of China.
A steady articulation of India’s red lines with China, strengthening trade and diplomatic relations with like-minded ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries, taking unpopular but necessary steps to secure India’s sovereignty, and being engaged at the diplomatic and military levels, are the steps to be taken. The Indian people need to be informed about what is happening. India can ill-afford to look weak and indecisive with its stated ambition of being a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.
Argha Mallick,
Kolkata
Draconian precondition
Nowhere in the world do awards to academicians, artists, scholars, scientists and others come with any riders, preconditions or any undertakings from the recipients. I refer to a parliamentary panel recommendation that award-winners ‘sign an undertaking that they would not return their awards at any stage to protest any political incident’ to avoid political embarrassment.
Will anyone with self-respect accept such a precondition?
Tharcius S. Fernando,
Chennai
Blame the parents
When there are complaints of children becoming screen zombies, who is to blame? Once back home from school, children are most often engaged in playing online games and gazing at mobile phone screens after borrowing the device from their parents. Children are not to be blamed for being glued to mobile screens. Parents are the spoilers.
K. Pradeep,
Chennai
