United states

Without politicising the matter, all political parties, along with the Central and state governments, need to tackle the issue of regionalism positively and promptly for the sake of India’s unity and integrity.

* Without politicising the matter, all political parties, along with the Central and state governments, need to tackle the issue of regionalism positively and promptly for the sake of India’s unity and integrity. Raj Thackeray’s attitude and temperament are obviously threats to national security. The people of Maharashtra should understand that the law-breaker cannot be the protector. Raj should understand that

Maharashtra is a part of India and not the other way round. It is not for him to say who can live in any corner of India and who cannot. Just as his tactics have united political foes in Bihar, similarly, Maharashtrian politicians should recognise the threat he represents and unite against him. He may be good, in an absurd way, for development in other states. But Maharashtra’s image will take a long time to recover from the Raj Thackeray saga.

—A.K. Samal, Delhi

Room for all

* This refers to Bibek Debroy’s ‘When we are young’. The young and the old are both imperative for the successful evolution of a society due to eternal human and social constraints. The transition of leadership may not be smooth, as the resistance offered by the elderly to maintain the status quo is strong, as is the desire of the youth to change existing structures. This can only lead to inevitable conflicts. The resolution of such conflicts demands a balanced and mature response, whereby the old make room for the young in order to rapidly incorporate them in nation-building, and the young keep consulting the senior generation to move ahead.

—Vipul Arora, Meerut

Act on time

Story continues below this ad

* The sacking of employees every time the economy contracts is painful, no matter what fancy economists and fancier industrialists say. Every job lost is a sad human story, a story that today’s economics-driven media and academies wilfully overlook. Recession has already hit Europe, officially. As we gear up for the fate of employees in this country, we can’t help reflecting that a recession is always a big pretext for exploiting workers. But we do have the example of the New Deal and know something of how to create state employment during an economic crisis. The Union government should be ready to step up and help those who may be laid off in the near future.

—C.P. D’Souza, Mumbai

Not neighbourly

* This refers to Coomi Kapoor’s article ‘Neighbourliness’. The idea of nationhood is central to the unity of a country and the identity of its citizens. The practice of accommodation, cooperation and toleration keeps a civilisation running. We need healthy debate for stability and progress. But such debate, such conflicts must be rational and constructive. Unfortunately, in India, conflict erupts on parochial lines of language, religion and caste. Our public space echoes with the memory of bloody conflicts like the Partition, the language riots, the anti-Sikh riots and the Gujarat riots. No wonder we are a malnourished society.

—A. Sharma, Ghaziabad