Phone a friend

Sir — Calling a friend for help when stranded on the road is common. Except that in this case, the stranded was the French president and the friend he called for help was his American counterpart, whose convoy led to the police barricade and the former being stuck on a New York street. “Guess what, I’m waiting in the street because everything is frozen for you,” Emmanuel Macron joked on the hotline with Donald Trump. While Macron must be lauded for keeping his cool, one wonders what would have happened if the tables had turned. Would the mighty Trump ever wait in line?

Sukrit Sinha,
Noida

Justified demands

Demands unheard

Sir — Ladakh is witnessing an unprecedented wave of youth-led, anti-government demonstrations demanding statehood and special status under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution that the region was stripped of with the revocation of Article 370 in 2019 (“Cold fire”, Sept 26). Mirroring the methods of the recent Gen Z uprising in Nepal, this large-scale protest in Ladakh had plunged the ‘peaceful’ province into a state of unrest.

The Centre’s failure to meet the promises undermined the faith of the masses. This protest is not merely a politically motivated move but a drastic step towards protecting their grazing lands, tribal rights and biodiversity zones from the clutches of crony capitalists.

Aayman Anwar Ali,
Calcutta

Sir — It is a proven fact that a decentralised authority and administration strengthen democracy at the grassroots. Residents of Ladakh are deeply apprehensive about losing their lands unless the government puts in place certain constitutional safeguards against the purchase of their property by people outside their region.

The Himalayan region of Ladakh holds immense geostrategic importance. The Centre should do everything possible to avoid a confrontation with Ladakhis and reach an amicable settlement with them. Blaming Sonam Wangchuk and the Congress gets it nowhere (“Modi fan turns ‘terrorist’”, Sept 26).

G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Sir — The Narendra Modi government had given wings to the dreams of Ladakhis during the parliamentary elections. Sonam Wangchuk has been advocating for the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule for a couple of years. Any dilly-dallying by the Centre may not only worsen the situation but also fuel feelings of alienation among the people of Ladakh. The government should keep in mind the recent turmoil faced by Nepal. Further, India has two hostile neighbouring nations, China and Pakistan, which are always ready to capitalise on India’s domestic crisis.

Bhagwan Thadani,
Mumbai

Crucial difference

Sir — In the early 1990s, a Vietnamese scholar doing a PhD in an American university told me that the difference between Indians and Vietnamese is that while Indians get an education in India and then migrate to the West to lead a comfortable life, Vietnamese think of how they can give back to their country after acquiring knowledge in the West. Thirty years on, Vietnam’s per capita income is higher than India’s. Sushant Singh’s article, “Poor returns” (Sept 26), which discusses the Indian diaspora’s selfishness, justifies the remark made by my acquaintance.

Binod Kumar Mintri,
Calcutta

Sir — New India is synonymous with “power” (“In another time”, Sept 25). So powerful that millions of Indians have no other option but to escape this shore to work as petty labourers in volatile regions. While Nehruvian India laid maximum stress upon the creation of basic infrastructure, New India has achieved an unenviable record in unemployment.

Kajal Chatterjee,
Calcutta