Ancient orbs

Sir — Faith manifests itself in a variety of ways across cultures. Be it in wooden sculptures, like the Shigir Idol from the Mesolithic period, or in nature, like the sacred groves, humans have found the divine in many forms. A startling discovery was made about some such objects of worship in Madhya Pradesh recently. Rocks revered as ‘kuldevta’ by the Mandaloi family were found to be fossilised dinosaur eggs. Scientists identified the orbs — worshipped as protectors of land and cattle by villagers — to be Titanosaurus eggs during a field study. One wonders whether the fossils were relatively well preserved only because they carried totemic value for humans — an irony that will not escape those who advocate the separation of religion from science.

Madhav Lal Chouhan, Bhopal

Fraught ties

Sir — It is unfortunate that the conflict between the governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan, and the Left Democratic Front government has escalated (“Kerala CM to take governor grouse to PM”, Dec 19). The relationship between the Raj Bhavan and the government in states where the Bharatiya Janata Party is not in power has been testy in recent years. Governors have made it a point to use their position to interfere in governance. Recent judgments of the apex court have underscored that elected regimes should not be undermined by unelected governors. The esteemed residents of the Raj Bhavans should keep this in mind.

Khokan Das, Calcutta

Sir — Arif Mohammed Khan has brought shame to his high constitutional office with his indecorous behaviour. Although Khan is no different from his counterparts in states that are not ruled by the BJP, he is perhaps the first to call students “criminals” and
the police “shameless”. The chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, has said that he will approach the Centre on this issue. But it is unlikely that he will get any help given that it is the Centre which is usually behind such gubernatorial interference.

Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai

Sir — The peace in ‘god’s own country’ is being ruined by protests against the governor and the chief minister. Many protestors are having to face the wrath of youth activists of political parties while the police stand mute spectators. Kerala has clearly been taken over by the devil.

Avinash Godboley, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh

Sir — The conduct Arif Mohammed Khan does not befit that of a governor. His belligerence towards the state government is unwarranted. As the chancellor of state universities, he is making blatant attempts to saffronise the institutions. Students are thus within their rights to resist such attempts. If Khan is so enchanted by Hindutva, he should vacate the Raj Bhavan and take up organisational responsibility in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Plan well

Sir — The handover of the Dharavi redevelopment project to the Adani Group has raised questions about the government’s impartiality. The plans of the Adani Group, too, are unclear. There is a need for more dialogue and consultation among the government, the developer and the people of Dharavi to address the latter’s concerns and expectations.

Water scarcity is a serious challenge for the residents of Dharavi, one of the most densely-populated slums in the world. According to some sources, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation provides water for only two hours a day and many households have to rely on private vendors or illegal connections. With the rise in population, the water requirement will only increase. Some residents and businesses in Dharavi are also worried about their future owing to the redevelopment. But these challenges are not insurmountable. If the redevelopment of Dharavi is successful, it can become a model for other slums to emulate.

Dhananjay Sinha, Calcutta

Instant justice

Sir — The Karnataka High Court is right to term the incident of a woman being paraded naked in a village in Belagavi as a case that needs “extraordinary treatment”. The woman was allegedly assaulted, paraded naked and tied to an electric pole after her son eloped with a girl who was set to get engaged to someone else. The shock expressed by the judge is what all of society should feel.

Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai

Sir — The incident in Belagavi district of Karnataka is shocking. But what is unsurprising and shameful is that the authorities failed to prevent such an incident. Dispensing instant justice has become the norm in this country and it has the tacit approval of the government. In fact, in some states, it is the government that advocates such extrajudicial punishments. This is worrying.

Karan Singh, Chennai

Tricky territory

Sir — The constant turmoil in Myanmar and the civil war-like situation there have left the country susceptible to Chinese overtures (“Twin trouble”, Dec 19). Indian diplomats must take adequate steps to ensure that Myanmar does not fall into China’s lap as that would leave India’s Northeast vulnerable.

Aranya Sanyal, Siliguri

Inhuman beings

Sir — Rajat Chaudhuri’s article, “Parliament of beings” (Dec 19), was well-researched and solidly argued. Humans call themselves the most intelligent beings on the planet but are thoughtlessly destroying the environment owing to rampant greed. It is thus not surprising that nature is striking back with natural disasters.

Sanjit Ghatak, South 24 Parganas