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This is an archive article published on November 18, 2013
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Opinion Letters to the editor: Raj relics

This refers to ‘PIL urges SC to do away with “my lord”,“your lordship”’ (IE,November 12 ).

The Indian Express

November 18, 2013 01:39 AM IST First published on: Nov 18, 2013 at 01:39 AM IST

Raj relics

* This refers to ‘PIL urges SC to do away with “my lord”,“your lordship”’ (IE,November 12 ). The PIL,filed by Shiv Sagar Tiwari in the Supreme Court,pleading that the archaic forms of address used for judges in courts of law be done away with,is most welcome and in tune with the times. Some appropriate words that could be considered as replacements for “my lord” and “your lordship” are “sir” and “mahodaya”. It must be noted that the currently used forms of address are relics of the Raj and are not fit to be used in independent India.

— R.P. Shahi

Pune

Into the future

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* Apropos Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s article ‘The old familiar’ (IE,November 15),the political class in India continues to look at society through the prism of caste,creed and religion. Even young politicians who have the benefit of a modern education have the same old jaded vision. A true leader needs to be able to transcend the moment and work towards achieving the India of tomorrow. For this they must have foresight. This may mean they will suffer temporary losses for taking up issues that seem out of sync with the present moment. Unfortunately,our current crop of politicians operate on a strict cost-benefit basis. None of them have ideas which

will propel us into the future. The more things change,the more they stay the same.

— Kiran Yadav

Etah

Boycott the ban

* This refers to the editorial ‘Count us in’ (IE,November 13) about the first phase of polling for the Chhattisgarh assembly elections. The massive number of voters who came out to exercise their franchise was a befitting reply to the Maoist’s call to boycott the elections. The conscientious citizens of Chhattisgarh have shown their faith in Indian democracy. The large-scale deployment of security forces further boosted people’s courage to defy the Maoist diktat. The enthusiastic youth,especially from the less privileged sections of society,are examples for the rest of us to cast our vote fearlessly.

— Tarun Kumar

Bokaro Steel City

Tread with caution

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* This refers to ‘Respected pradhan mantriji’ by Jaithirth Rao (IE,November 14 ). The government is right to be cautious in granting its approval to GM crops. There are troubling questions on their safety and environmental impact. Europe,Japan and other nations have also refrained from granting blanket approval to GM crops. Critics assert these crops need more agrochemicals for their cultivation.

— H.N. Ramakrishna

Bangalore