Love’s labour lost

Sir — An Indian man recently posted a ‘job application’ for the postion of a girlfriend on LinkedIn. According to the listing, the responsibilities would include “nurturing and maintaining a strong emotional connection, engaging in meaningful conversations, offering companionship and mutual support, and participating in shared hobbies”. While the post is in bad taste, it cannot be denied that these are the expectations that many Indian men have of their partners. Given that the role of the girlfriend has been advertised as a job, one wonders whether the man will be willing to make a payment to the girlfriend that is commensurate to her nurturing.

Roshni Sen,
Calcutta

Strong foundation

Sir — For the youth of the country today, India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, is often reduced to a shadow figure to be blamed for all the ills that plague the nation at present (“Deformed modernity”, Dec 20). Yet Nehru’s relevance to where India stands today is cementd in the very foundation on which New India is being built. He believed scientific planning and public institutions could solve collective problems. Large dams, engineering institutes, and national universities were built to expand irrigation, electricity, knowledge, and social mobility. These projects had flaws, yet they produced institutions and citizens who have taken the nation forward. The current hostility to Nehru’s legacy rejects the idea of a rational developmental State. Replacing planning with spectacle weakens long-term problem solving. A country that mocks its own institution builders will struggle to build anything durable in their absence.

Annesha Ghosh,
Calcutta

Sir — Many readers of Asim Ali’s column may wonder why Mahatma Gandhi appears in an argument about modern India. Gandhi symbolised mass political agency. Under him, ordinary people learnt to act without elite permission. That lesson forced the British to accept democracy. Today, Gandhi survives as a photo opportunity while activists are jailed under colonial laws. Removing his name from welfare schemes fits this pattern. The issue is not nostalgia. It is the systematic removal of symbols that remind citizens of their capacity to organise and resist. A democracy that fears its own history rarely trusts its people in the present.

Sagar Chakraborty,
Calcutta

Sir — The debate on modern India often sounds abstract. But the argument is simple: a modern country treats ordinary people as political actors and uses science to improve shared life. North India’s air pollution shows the collapse of both ideas. Millions suffer daily, yet the issue barely shapes elections or sustained protest. The State responds to this crisis with gimmicks instead of structural reform. This is not modern governance. It is resignation dressed up as management. When mass suffering fails to produce mass politics, modernity is stalled. Clean air is not a luxury. It is a basic test of whether public power still answers to the public.

H.N. Ramakrishna,
Bengaluru

Strategic choice

Sir — There was some surprise around how uncapped Indian players attracted massive bids at the recent auction of the Indian Premier League. But franchises are increasingly relying on scouting data, domestic performance trends, and role-specific needs. Spending heavily on untested players resembles early-stage investment. The risk is clear, yet the potential upside is equally obvious in a league with salary caps and retention rules. A successful young pick can deliver value for several seasons at a fixed cost. What appears reckless thus reflects a longer planning horizon shaped by analytics rather than sentiment. Like markets, the auction choices reveal their wisdom or folly only with time.

Saikat Bose,
Calcutta