Notes on the protest
If the farmers’ protest was about the Farm Bills, what was the compulsion to canvass support from other segments of society who have no stake in the new laws? Can farmers from a geographical region claim to represent the entire farming community? The needless expansion and intensification of the agitation despite the government’s offer to reconsider some of the contentious clauses, has exposed its hidden political dimensions.
It is evident that intermediaries who flourished under the mandi system had forged deep commercial relationships with farmers and do not want to share the pie with other buyers of foodgrains.
Dissent has no intrinsic value except when it is grounded in reason and fairness. It can lose legitimacy if protesters overreach themselves. There is a moral hazard in romanticising every protest merely because it helps to show the government in a poor light. The Opposition that has backed the bandh call seems to forget that moral hazards can visit any government, any time.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram
Trudeau’s remarks
The remarks of the Canadian Premier, Justin Trudeau, on the Farm Bills and the protests of Indian farmers are unwarranted and uncalled for.
How can he comment on the internal affairs of another sovereign, democratic republic? Mr. Trudeau appears to be ‘ill-informed’ and it is for the Indian government and the farmers to sort it out.
Has Mr. Trudeau fallen victim to the calculations of some of the Indian diaspora in Canada.
R. Sampath,
Chennai
The farmers’ agitation has virtually grown into a mass movement, even attracting international attention. India is predominantly an agricultural-dependent nation, which also determines the standard of life for more than 50% of the Indian population. Farmers who toil in the sun and rain throughout the year, reap little benefits. Sadly, they are least respected in the society that partakes the fruits of their labour. The government must shed its ego and engage in constructive talks with farmers, rather than lash out at its critics.
R. Sivakumar,
Chennai
China’s new focus
Even as the months long India-China military stand-off continues unabated at the LAC, it is unwarranted that as part of its new Five-Year-Plan, Beijing is mulling over building ‘a super hydropower station’ on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra river, bordering Arunachal Pradesh. China’s claim that it is a ‘legitimate right’ of China is rather provocative as India, as a lower riparian state, with significantly established user rights to the waters of trans-border rivers has repeatedly voiced concerns not only at bilateral talks but also under the ambit of the institutionalised Expert Level Mechanism about Beijing’s plans.
Building dams on the Brahmaputra looks to be another expansionist move of China and seems to be akin to its earlier move of blocking rivers by building a series of dams along the Mekong mainstream and which affected many Southeast Asian nations. Even if India says that it will carefully monitor all developments on the Brahmaputra, only time will tell how far Beijing will take India’s concerns into consideration. Apart from the fact that the dam would block silt carried by the river which could lead to an eventual reduction in agricultural productivity in Arunachal Pradesh, what is even more alarming is the untold environmental damage that building dams on the seismic-activity-and-earthquake-prone Himalayan region might cause. One cannot rule out the possibility of China’s land and sea hegemony morphing into ‘water weaponisation’.
Nalini Vijayaraghavan,
Thiruvananthapuram
India’s win
There is absolutely no doubt that Hardik Pandya is “raw talent” and is turning out to be an apt substitute for finisher M.S. Dhoni. Still, the real Man of the Match was T. Natarajan, who choked the marauding Aussies (‘Sport’ page, “India soars to series victory on Hardik’s wings”, December 7)..
N. Mahadevan,
Chennai
The young guns have proved their worth by keeping their nerves under control to reach the target. Hardik’s swashbuckling knock and the contributions from the rest of the team are laudable. It is pertinent to note that young Natarajan is turning out to be consistent with his haul of wickets.
A.P. Thiruvadi,
Chennai
