Energy break
Sir — Generation Z has been flipping the script of workplace dynamics. The latest trend ushered in by Zoomers is micro-retirement — it implies not waiting until retirement age but hitting the brakes before to reduce burnout and pursue other passions. While micro-retirement seems to be a rip-off of the concept of sabbatical, the former is not employer-guaranteed. But with the rise in quiet-quitting among youngsters, employers might consider granting micro-retirements. After all, a distance from the daily work grinds not only ensures better productivity but can also be a smart way of improving employee retention.
Sonalia Pal,
Calcutta
Resurrected
Sir — It is unfortunate that Nagpur is on the boil owing to bigoted sentiments (“Aurangzeb fires up Hindutva cradle”, Mar 19). Violence erupted in the city after those belonging to Hindu extremist groups demanded the removal of the tomb of the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb. Clashes took place based on rumours that a sacrilegious act had taken place.
The whole of Maharashtra has been restless following the release of the film, Chhaava, which depicts the adversity between the Maratha ruler, Chhatrapati Sambhaji, and Aurangzeb. The Mughal ruler has been dead for 300 years and removing his tomb would hardly achieve anything. Instead of focusing on issues like unemployment, inflation, and farmers’ suicides, Hindutva agents are busy advocating the digging of a centuries-old grave.
Zakir Hussain,
Kazipet, Telangana
Sir — The events that unfolded in Nagpur on Monday night were not spontaneous (“Long shadow”, Mar 20). The chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, said that the clashes were premeditated. If this was the case, one might ask why then the state government had no prior intelligence of such violence and had not taken timely action to stem it. This implies that the government itself allowed the clashes to fester to reap political dividends.
What good can removing the tomb of a Mughal emperor who died in 1707 AD do for the state? The double-engine sarkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party must take responsibility.
Jang Bahadur Singh,
Jamshedpur
Sir — Ever since the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014, India has been witnessing frequent communal flare-ups. The incident in Nagpur is the latest instance. An unapproved procession taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district ended in riots that left scores injured.
If the riots were indeed preplanned, why had the government not taken pre-emptive steps? That Nagpur is also the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mothership of the BJP, is a link that must not be ignored.
Tharcius S. Fernando,
Chennai
Sir — The violence in Nagpur was a disaster waiting to happen. The extremist elements who mix religion with politics must be held responsible for the incident. The government in Maharashtra must have better things to do than to acquiesce to the demands of razing the tomb of a 17th-century ruler that has been declared a protected monument. The release of the film, Chhaava, which espoused a deeply divisive narrative about the sparring between Chhatrapati Sambhaji and Aurangzeb, has been responsible for arousing bigoted sentiments among the masses. The ideals of tolerance and fraternity become casualties when such communal clashes are engineered to exacerbate religious rifts and consolidate vote banks.
G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Silent killer
Killer decibels
Sir — In the illuminating article, “The demon called noise” (Mar 18), Debasish Bhattacharya relevantly quoted the Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Robert Koch, who predicted as early as 1910 that humans would have to fight noise as fiercely as cholera and pests in the future. The dangers posed by noise pollution are often eclipsed by the risks of the other two kinds of pollution, air and water. Rampant violations of noise limits set by the government have become the norm.
Jahar Saha,
Calcutta
Sir — Noise is a dangerous environmental pollutant. Blaring loudspeakers in neighbourhoods during religious festivals and election campaigns cause harm to the people, especially patients and senior citizens. Such practices must be curbed.
Tapomoy Ghosh,
East Burdwan
Smart move
Sir — The proposed initiative of linking voter ID cards with Aadhaar cards is the government’s attempt to avoid discrepancies in electoral rolls and ensure an integrated mechanism for voter participation (“Aadhaar, EPIC to be linked: EC”, Mar 19). Such an initiative is in line with constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court’s directives; they must be adopted at the earliest to install a more transparent electoral process.
Dimple Wadhawan,
Kanpur