“A monumental mistake” by Thomas Sajan and Titto Idicula (March 17) has put things in perspective. The colossal amount of money and manpower being expended on building memorials may be better utilised for alleviating poverty and for providing sanitation, potable water and education to the marginalised.

Many of the statues in the country have gathered enough dirt to mock at the very leaders in whose honour they were built. The best tribute to any illustrious leader is to emulate the ideas and principles that he or she stood for.

CG Kuriakose

Malippara, Kerala

Overhaul the system

With reference to “What India Inc expects from the new govt” by Sidharth Birla (March 17), it is difficult to address all weaknesses simultaneously as one decision is related to another. Tax reform is the single largest decision that has to be taken; it will go a long way in getting sizable revenue and reducing the cost of commodities.

The second issue is the government will have to review MNREGA, RTE and NRHM in which there are reports of siphoning of funds. These programmes have to be made more effective. The prevailing subsidy culture is the single major source of corruption and inflation; it has to be overhauled.

RK Arya

Faridabad

Jewels, all

Each episode of Aamir Khan’s show Satyamev Jayate is an eye-opener and extremely thought-provoking. All those who appeared on the show on March 16, who serve the nation by managing ‘our’ waste without any expectations, are bharat ratnas . They don’t make records, nor earn crores, not become models. But they are far more useful to society than any cricketer or so-called celebrity.

Hansraj Bhat

Mumbai

Media intolerance

The News Broadcasters’ Association’s warning to Arvind Kejriwal to “use caution” or he will be blacklisted smacks of authoritarianism. Implicit is the message that media is above criticism and intolerant of criticism. Incidentally, Kejriwal’s charge converges with the public perception.

G David Milton

Maruthancode, Kerala

Beyond limits

This refers to the new item “AAP faces media ire on Kejriwal comments” (March 15). The AAP chief is crossing the limit by attacking everybody. But for the media, he would have been insignificant. It is time people of his ilk realise that media can either make or mar the progress of the political class.

HP Murali

Bangalore

Poll-pourri

The kind of political churning we are witnessing today is leading political parties to delay announcing their candidates (“Elections Twenty20”, March 15). As usual lot of leaders are changing parties and even sitting Congress MPs are opting for safer seats.

We must accept that the political landscape has gone through a drastic change. And though the disclosure of candidates’ names has been delayed, rallies are taking place in every nook and corner of the country.

Bal Govind

Noida

Language power

This refers to “Let a hundred languages bloom” by Sandhya Rao (March 14). Learning many langauges will always help, never harm. Those who do not like to learn English need not, but don’t discourage those who want to.

The writer is absolutely right in saying that there is no doubt that in order to facilitate efficient and effective communication in a multilingual society the teaching and learning of languages has to be given primacy. And if English serves a useful purpose in this project we should adopt it.

I worked in Tamil Nadu for five years and I can speak Tamil even now, nine years after leaving the State. I am proud of it. Let us be broadminded and try to appreciate people who have multilingual skills.

TSN Rao

Akiveedu, Andhra Pradesh

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