Trademark charm

Sir — A signature style refers to a specific way of doing something that sets a person apart from everyone else. Shashi Tharoor’s use of extensive vocabulary is a case in point. It was thus unusual when he chose to congratulate the actor, Shah Rukh Khan, on winning his first National Award in the most un-Tharoorian way. To everyone’s amusement, Khan decided to reply to Tharoor with his own trademark charm and wit, borrowing Tharoor’s style and using bombastic words like “magniloquent” and “sesquipedalian” in order to poke fun at the politician. Looks like Khan did not abandon his signature style.

Sneha Dey,
Delhi

Friendship soured

Sir — Under pressure from Donald Trump’s retaliatory tariffs, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, has suddenly started shedding crocodile tears for farmers (“Tariff does what stir couldn’t”, Aug 8). Modi vowed to be a saviour of the farmers after the United States of America slapped 50% tariffs on India. The diplomatic relations between Indian and the US as well as the personal rapport that Modi claims to have with Trump are of no help to India at present.

Arun Gupta,
Calcutta

Sir — In response to Donald Trump’s tariff blitzkrieg, Narendra Modi has reassured Indian farmers that their interests will not be compromised at any cost. New Delhi’s decision to stand up to Washington’s bullish behaviour is commendable.

The US not only wants reduced tariffs on certain farm products like corn, soybeans, apples, almonds and ethanol but has also demanded increased access to the Indian market for American dairy goods. Undertandably, Modi is unwilling to antagonise the farming community, having learnt a bitter lesson from the farmers’ agitation at Delhi’s borders in 2020-21 against the three Central farm laws. There is a need for the stakeholders to close ranks in order to confront the US.

Khokan Das,
Calcutta

Sir — It is unfair that Donald Trump has hiked the tariff on Indian goods to 50%. India has been purchasing oil from Russia at a cheap rate despite threats of penalties from Trump. When the US has no trade policy, it resorts to imposing high tariff rates to subjugate other countries. This is economic blackmail.

N.R. Ramachandran,
Chennai

Sir — Instead of yielding to the coercive tactics of Donald Trump, India has rightly asserted its sovereign right to secure its energy needs in the most effective way (“Nation first”, Aug 7). However, since the US is the most valuable export market for India, the high tariffs have resulted in Indian exporters scrambling to retain their access to the US market. The US is using economic coercion to achieve geopolitical goals. It is time India initiated concerted measures to diversify its exports.

M. Jeyaram,
Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

Sir — All those claims of bromance between Narendra Modi and Donald Trump in the past decade that led to the coinage of catchphrases like ‘Howdy Modi’ and ‘Abki baar, Trump sarkar’ have amounted to nothing. India is facing Trump’s tariff wrath just like any other country. Instead of taking action, Modi has issued a lacklustre response.

Asim Boral,
Calcutta

Irrational fear

Sir — Anup Sinha’s article, “Risk assessment” (Aug 9), was insightful. There has been fear about Artificial Intelligence posing an existential threat to humanity. Scientists must find a way to control AI so that it can only be used for the benefit of humanity.

Alok Ganguly,
Nadia

Sir — AI offers benefits like increased efficiency, cost savings and improved accuracy. But AI is a double-edged sword.

P. Victor Selvaraj,
Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu