Letters to The Editor — October 15, 2024

Weakening the RTI

It is astounding that there is a huge and growing backlog of appeals and complaints pending in information commissions in India (‘Opinion’ page, “Scuttling people’s right to information”, October 14). The bad attitude and apathy towards the right to information seems deliberate and it may be a matter of time before the Act becomes a dead letter.

H. Syed Othuman,

Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu

The RTI Act is a formal way to facilitate the flow of vital information to the public. There was sanctity. Unfortunately, the Act has been weakened. The common man who does not have any political affiliation will assert that the Congress was definitely more transparent and open to public ideas than the BJP.

T.M. Uday Shankar,

Hyderabad

A victim

The way the system treated a man on a wheelchair is shameful (“Modi govt. responsible for Saibaba death: Left parties”, October 14). G.N. Saibaba’s long detention behind harsh prison walls hastened his end. The system itself is on a wheelchair.

N.G.R. Prasad,

Chennai

Our insensitive criminal justice system and cruel ways of state apparatuses are squarely responsible for the passing of G.N. Saibaba. Even the judiciary added to this with some of its flip-flops. G.N. Saibaba’s passing evokes the memory of Father Stan Swamy, who too was a victim of the vengeful attitude of the state towards dissenters. A serious and sustained campaign by the political Opposition should lead to the repair of a deeply flawed criminal justice system.

Manohar Alembath,

Kannur, Kerala

The passing of scholar and outstanding teacher G.N. Saibaba shocks both his students and admirers. But did he waste precious years in propagating and supporting violence to establish an egalitarian society in India? Perhaps he could have researched Gandhism too.

S. Nagarajan Iyer,

Coimbatore

Ratan N. Tata

There is a pall of gloom with business magnate and philanthropist Ratan Naval Tata shedding his mortal coils. I wish to highlight the simplicity of those who occupied the high chair in many of the Tata enterprises. I reproduce a letter, dated September 12, 1986, from the indefatigable J.R.D. Tata addressed to this nonagenarian pen-pusher: “Dear Mr. Natarajan, I thank you for your letter of August 14 which reached me, a few days ago. I agree with you, that my usage of the words, ‘I personally met Jayaprakash’ was wrong, but only from the point of view of a purist, I don’t agree that it was grammatically wrong. It is one of the many figures of speech in the English language which are common usage. After all, if William Shakespeare can use a tautological expression, ‘This was the most unkindest cut of all’, a mere J.R.D. Tata, can, I think, be excused for having claimed to have ‘personally met someone’. With kind regards, Signed – J.R.D. Tata.”

Mani Nataraajan,

Chennai

A tennis king

That Rafael Nadal had such a long and prolific career is an achievement in itself. There were many who predicted that his overtly physical style that demanded so much of his body would result in a relatively short career. But the Spaniard could prove them wrong.

Nagarajamani M.V.,

Hyderabad

Published - October 15, 2024 12:24 am IST