Your cover story on the Olympics was comprehensive and interesting (‘Let the gains begin!’, August 4). The Indian contingent in Paris is sure to improve its performance, and will get more medals than they got in Tokyo; they are very talented. Athletes like Neeraj Chopra and Manu Bhaker should inspire everyone else out there. India is nowhere in football, volleyball, basketball, track and field, swimming, cycling and rowing, where we need to improve by leaps and bounds.
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told you that he hopes India will have made the strides to be in the top 10 on the medal tally in 2036, which I feel is achievable. Let’s hope for the best.
Yash Bhatia,
On email.
Our Olympians never fail to surprise us with stunning performances. But the hype associated with cricket overshadows other sports. The time is ripe to reset our priorities, and elevate other sports if we are planning to bid for the 2036 Olympics.
A cricketer’s name and fame lasts for a decade, at least, often stretching beyond his sunset days. But our Olympic medallists do not get the same treatment.
Sachidananda Satpathy,
On email.
Expectations are always high before the Olympics. But, realistically speaking, we haven’t reached anywhere. A single gold medal is not enough for the world’s most populous country. In every Olympics we should have at least two champions like Neeraj Chopra.
Also, it is important to educate athletes and coaches about the dangers of doping. We should not have been ranked at the top of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of offenders for 2022. This is shameful and embarrassing. I don’t understand the logic behind athletes seeking shortcuts. What do they achieve by doing so? There should be an end to it. Better late than never.
P.K. Dubey,
On email.
All was not well
Trouble is brewing for the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP in the aftermath of the party’s sub-par performance in the Lok Sabha election, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath blaming overconfidence for the poor results, while his deputy, Keshav Prasad Maurya, reminding Adityanath that the party organisation is the force behind the government and not vice versa (‘Monk in a muddle’, August 4).
Battle of supremacy within the BJP has turned the state government weak, and the constant infighting is taking its toll on governance.
Sanjay Chopra,
On email.
I agree that Adityanath enjoys the protection of the RSS, but I don’t believe that the RSS is focused on cutting Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to size. May be Shah, not Modi. The RSS won’t take that risk.
The BJP relies on Modi’s popularity to win elections. If Modi goes out of the picture, the BJP may not even win 100 seats in the Lok Sabha. Adityanath will take over from Modi, but only after 10 years. Till then Modi is safe.
Nikhil Sharma,
On email.
Kamala and Renuka
There is a book by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich—Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History—which basically tells that women who subvert patriarchal status quo through their actions and words, who do not toe the line, make and change the direction of world’s history that men feel they are entitled to write and create. Kamala Harris is one such non-conformist.
Barkha Dutt’s views on the trolling that Harris received for her supposed ‘cackle’ reminded me of the dismissal and belittlement of Renuka Chowdhury’s laughter that was labelled by her critics as “Shurpanakha’s cackle”. But like most bold women who make history, Harris knows to stride forward—detractors be damned (‘Last word’, August 4).
While Donald Trump will try his best to laugh at Harris’s ideas and opinions, Harris will laugh away his sexist comments to stay relevant and strong in the race. All said and done, we need to watch as to who will have the last laugh in the upcoming US elections. Should Harris win, it would, by default, mean the empowerment of women of all races, classes, and ethnicities living in the US.
Varsha V. Shenoy,
On email.
Systematic erosion
The anguish of K.M. Chandrasekhar “to have more officers with values than ambitions and expectations” is wishful thinking (‘Mussoorie’s misfortune’, July 28).
There has been a systemic erosion and corrosion of the values by acts of omission and commission. The candidates, on clearing the UPSC examination, join the academy [in Mussoorie], that boasts of integrity, respect, collaboration, professionalism, and promise to serve the needy.
But most officer trainees assume themselves as demigods and paint a picture of contradiction to the mission statement. The lifestyle of the IAS and the IPS officers stops them from travelling by bus, as Chandrasekhar did while he was in service. Today, bureaucracy thrives on a gross display of power and wealth.
Prakash Joseph,
On email.
Why make us feel small?
When you make a man stand next to a person taller than him, he feels shorter (‘Detour’, July 21). The $5000-crore Ambani wedding made even the rich Indians feel poor, not to talk of middle-class Indians like me. It did not add to the national happiness index.
I would have appreciated had the wedding been just for about a week, reflecting on our cultural heritage and traditions. Yes, it is their money, and they can spend it the way they like. But the senses are ours, the nation is ours. Why make us feel, if not small, envious? Definitely build your wealth, but why spoil our equanimity?
As a nation, we have to move together—rich and poor—in harmony. Strength of the chain lies in its weakest link.
All said, my blessings to the lovely Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant.
R.D. Singh,
On email.