True essence
Sir — Politeness, it is said, is the flower of humanity. But good manners are apparently incurring a heavy cost on nature. The OpenAI chief, Sam Altman, recently stated that the use of phrases like ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’ in interactions with ChatGPT is contributing to humongous electricity expenses. Artificial Intelligence has been designed to mirror the behaviour of humans. Perhaps Altman should focus on doing away with viral tools like Studio Ghibli-style image generation — generating a single image requires a large amount of electricity — instead of implying that humans should change their essence.
Anusree Bardhan,
Delhi
Communal remark
Sir — Ramdev has a knack for making misleading claims. While referring to Rooh Afza recently, he said that the profit from selling the popular summer drink is used by its manufacturing company, Hamdard, to build mosques and madrasas. He went on to term it as “sharbat jihad”. This earned Ramdev a well-deserved dressing-down from the Delhi High Court, which stressed that the comment was not only “indefensible” but also something that “shocks the conscience of the court” (“‘Sharbat jihad’ jibe shocks HC”, April 23). Ramdev is a deeply communal individual and the comment is nothing short of hate speech.
S.S. Paul,
Nadia
Sir — While promoting Patanjali’s rose sharbat earlier this month, Ramdev indicated that the selling of Rooh Afza was akin to “sharbat jihad”. It was a blatant attempt to create a communal divide.
Ramdev has made similar misleading comments in the past. He claimed in the early days of the pandemic that Coronil, sold by Patanjali, was a cure for Covid-19. Stricter punishment should be meted out to him so that he thinks twice about making such comments in the future.
Jang Bahadur Singh,
Jamshedpur
Uneven view
Sir — Mukul Kesavan has rightly iterated that “The mere fact that the Supreme Court has made it clear that it is willing to stay crucial parts of the [Waqf] Act suggests that the judicial deference that Modi’s government commanded as its due is not so readily available” (“Majoritarian buffet”, April 20). The Waqf (Amendment) Act does not reflect India’s secular ethos.
Sujit De,
Calcutta
Sir — The views expressed by Mukul Kesavan in “Majoritarian buffet” were seemingly one-sided. An institution as big as Waqf with vast networks of land holdings cannot be encouraged to be completely self-governed and not be accountable to the rule of law. The matter should be decided by the apex court, which should arrive at a decision only after hearing both sides in the conflict.
Ronodeep Das,
Calcutta
Elusive justice
Sir — Delayed delivery of justice is one of the biggest shortcomings of India’s justice system (“Justice undone”, April 21). Indian prisons have a large number of undertrial prisoners owing to delayed investigation and prolonged court proceedings.
A recent verdict of the Bombay High Court is the best example of this — an accused in a murder case who has been behind bars for nearly nine years merely on suspicion was eventually granted bail. To prevent such derailment of justice, the authorities must ensure quick and fair investigations.
Kyamudin Ansari,
Mumbai
Rogue crowd
Sir — Most hill stations, including Mussoorie and Nainital, are fast losing their pristine beauty because of the unregulated construction of commercial spaces and a huge influx of tourists (“Ruined spot”, April 18). It was good to learn about new hill towns like Landour, which are still untouched by commercialisation and overtourism as they are off the main routes and comparatively unexplored. Steps need to be taken to increase awareness to preserve the beauty of these hill stations.
Fateh Najamuddin,
Lucknow
Doomed childhood
Sir — Children these
days prefer using electronic gadgets to reading books or playing games. Some children are even reluctant to eat without watching videos on cellphones. This harms their mental and physical health. Educational institutions should discontinue online classes. Parents
need to spend more time with their wards to wean them off gadgets (“Avoid gadgets, bond with family”, April 23).
Shyamal Thakur,
East Burdwan
Banks for minors
Sir — The Reserve Bank of India has allowed children aged 10 and above to independently open and operate their own savings and term deposit accounts. This is a historic step and will promote financial independence among the youth early on. The new rules will not only make banks more transparent but also teach children to be financially responsible. However, banks must ensure regular monitoring of accounts and customer verification to prevent misuse.
R.K. Jain,
Barwani, Madhya Pradesh