The show goes on
Sir — The biggest casualty of technology is perhaps the habit of reading. A recent study corroborates this sentiment. According to research published in iScience, fewer Americans are opening a book for fun each day, with reading for pleasure in that country plummeting more than 40% over the past two decades. What then, some would question, explains the rise of Booktok and other social media-driven activities that deal with books and popularise reading? Perhaps young people these days are more engrossed with the projection of reading than actually doing a bit of reading themselves.
Chitra Manjhi,
Delhi
On the margins
Sir — “Dispensable lives” by T.M. Krishna should sensitise all concerned. Elected dispensations, be it at the Centre or in the states, have a tendency to exploit the workforce without guaranteeing labour rights. Contractual workers, for instance, are paid much less than the minimum wage. Despite the importance of sanitation workers, their wages are low and working conditions are deplorable. The suppression of the conservancy workers’ protest by the Tamil Nadu government in the name of maintaining law and order was sickening.
A.G. Rajmohan,
Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh
Sir — T.M. Krishna’s argument, “Governments have themselves become corporations”, was insightful. Previously, governments at least pretended to care about the labourers’ welfare. But ever since privatisation, governments are only concerned with profit-making and workers have been reduced to bonded labourers. Contractual workers are being deprived of their legitimate entitlements by private contractors. When these wronged workers knock on the doors of the government for justice, the latter simply shrugs off responsibility by passing the buck.
Sourav Ash,
Calcutta
Sir — The account of the plight of the conservancy workers in Chennai by T.M. Krishna was heartbreaking. Conservancy workers make life easier for other citizens by risking their lives and their health. In spite of this, they are subjected to social stigma and discrimination. The government has the power to end their misery if it only cared.
T. Ramadas,
Visakhapatnam
Coercive action
Sir — The summoning of two editors of The Wire by the Assam Police is yet another instance of the State’s attempt to stifle independent media (“To muzzle”, Aug 21). The summons were made even after the Supreme Court granted them protection. The apex court has since the protection. The Assam Police also failed to furnish the specifics of their alleged offence, as required by law. This shows the State’s brazen desire to terrorise those who question its narrative under the pretence of safeguarding India’s ‘sovereignty’.
Kamal Laddha,
Bengaluru
Sir — Filing frivolous cases against independent media has become a part of the government’s playbook. The Assam Police’s decision to summon Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Naya Sanhita is a case of the State trampling on press freedom. Section 152 is a rebranded version of the colonial-era sedition law. The court must declare it unconstitutional.
Khokan Das,
Calcutta
Timely act
Sir — It was surprising to learn that SpaceX initially underestimated a liquid oxygen leak found in the Falcon 9 rocket before the Axiom-4 mission until the Indian Space Research Organisation insisted that the flaw be fixed. Had the failure been ignored, the Axiom-4 mission could have ended in disaster. ISRO’s timely intervention is proof of its quality work.
D.V.G. Sankara Rao,
Andhra Pradesh