Bad idea

Sir — The hustle culture with no work-life balance has increased burnout among employees. But losing one’s job leads to ostracisation by one’s own family. A former corporate employee from Bengaluru took to social media to suggest a unique strategy to overcome this lose-lose situation — marrying one’s colleague. He advised that employees consider such a union for the perks that come with it — this includes saving on commuting costs, a more bearable work-from-home routine, and reduced scope for extramarital affairs. However, workplace relationships are frowned upon precisely due to these very implications. Moreover, colleagues tend to share their workplace experiences. Would trauma-dumping by a colleague-partner ensure that elusive work-life balance?

Shome Basu,
Noida

Southern defiance

Sir — The delimitation exercise has the potential of drastically increasing parliamentary seats for northern states, shifting the power axis decisively towards the Hindi belt (“Southern push for 543 seats”, Mar 23). Southern states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh could see their relative influence in Parliament shrink despite their stronger economic and social indicators. It could add to concerns about an unfair distribution of Central resources.

At its inaugural meeting in Chennai, the Joint Action Committee, a panel led by M.K. Stalin, pointed out that the southern states want fair delimitation and the process should not penalise progressive states that have effectively controlled their populations. The Union government should build a consensus before proceeding with delimitation.

S.S. Paul,
Nadia

Sir — Representatives from four southern states as well as Punjab and Odisha recently convened in Chennai to discuss the delimitation issue. The JAC unanimously resolved that the Lok Sabha’s strength be frozen at the current 543 seats for another 25 years. The JAC’s focus on the successful implementation of population control measures by southern states is a bid to counter the Centre’s bid to marginalise the south.

Jayanta Datta,
Hooghly

Sir — The conclave of Opposition parties against the delimitation proposal has irked the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Centre’s assurance that no state would lose any seat in the Lok Sabha due to the delimitation does not hold water. While southern states implemented population control measures, the populations of the northern states increased disproportionately. As a result, delimitation will inevitably increase the Lok Sabha seats of the northern states. The Centre’s proposals for both delimitation and the three-language policy lay bare its sinister design to undermine federalism.

T.T. Sakaria,
Delhi

Sir — The BJP staging black flag demonstrations across Tamil Nadu against the delimitation meeting convened by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on March 22 indicates its apprehensions about the success of such a meeting.

The Centre should realise that the non-BJP-ruled states cannot be held to ransom. By putting up a joint front, the southern states have shown that federalism cannot be taken for granted in a pluralist democracy.

M.C. Vijay Shankar,
Chennai

Young minds

Sir — The editorial, “Mind’s missives” (Mar 23), highlighted the innovative strategy of the Fanindra Deb Institution in Jalpaiguri to address the mental health issues of students. The strategy allows students to pen down their troubles and post them to the school letterbox. While the initiative is laudable, it cannot be guaranteed that such a step would yield positive results in every school.

Several surveys have shown that most Indian students are facing learning deficits and possess poor vocabulary, language and comprehension skills. Besides, many students would be reluctant to express their thoughts. The serious issue of students’ mental health needs more robust mitigatory initiatives.

Iftekhar Ahmed,
Calcutta

Sir — In an age fixated on speed, the younger generation would never savour the thrill and the excitement of penning letters and receiving them. Widespread digitisation and the rise of Artificial Intelligence have rendered letter-writing obsolete.

The habit of writing crystallises thoughts and acts as a panacea for countering the chaos of the mind. Not just students but all of us would benefit immensely if we could put our feelings on paper. Handwritten letters are better than typed ones as the former express emotions more profoundly.

Anthony Henriques,
Mumbai

Sir — Children are the future of the country and ensuring their sound mental health is society’s responsibility. India’s education system does not cater to the holistic development of students. Children are often stressed over various issues. The National Mental Health Survey (2015-2016) reported a 7.3% prevalence of psychiatric disorders in 13-17 year olds. The tradition of letter-writing should be revived so that people across all age groups can better cope with their stress.

Sunil Chopra,
Ludhiana

Starry event

Sir — The gala opening ceremony of the 2025 Indian Premier League at a packed Eden Gardens was a treat to watch (“Bold, gold & never old”, Mar 23). The presence of Shah Rukh Khan and Shreya Ghosal at the event was icing on the cake. However, the opening match turned out to be a damper as Bengal’s home team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. One hopes that KKR will recover from the loss and bounce back at the earliest.

M.N. Gupta,
Hooghly