Own goal

Sir — Who would have thought that football could be the ultimate bait to lure a criminal. A Slovak fugitive wanted in Italy for thefts in 2010 was arrested at the Milan Winter Olympics. After giving the authorities in Italy a slip, he lived as a free man until his love for Slovakian football lured him back across the border. He managed to sneak into the stadium for the match, only to discover that the police were already waiting for him. If one must abscond from the law, it is best to cultivate a hobby that can be enjoyed quietly at home. Stamp collecting, perhaps; birdwatching even. But not international football.

Disha Patil,
Howrah

Grey verdict

Sir — The National Green Tribunal’s decision to clear the mega infrastructure project on the Great Nicobar Island is disappointing (“Open season”, Feb 18). It poses serious and irreversible ecological risks. A six-member special bench of the NGT disposed of petitions challenging the project, observing that it found “no good ground to interfere” with the environmental clearance granted to the proposal as “adequate safeguards” had been built into the approval process. However, there is clear evidence that the project will have a disastrous ecological impact.

Bhagwan Thadani,
Mumbai

Sir — By giving clearance to the Great Nicobar Island project, the NGT has abdicated its responsibility to protect the environment. The NGT appears to be toeing the government’s line by citing “strategic importance” as a valid reason for going ahead with the project instead of applying its own mind to arrive at a fair decision. It is obvious that the project endangers the continued existence of the Great Nicobar Island in its natural state. Translocation of corals and coral regeneration sound like good ideas, but they might not work practically. Moreover, the indigenous people who will be displaced will lose their lives and livelihoods. The environmental and the human cost makes it quite clear that the project should not go ahead.

G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Contentious topic

Sir — A nine-judge bench of the apex court will take a fresh look at its 2018 verdict allowing women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple. Ensuring gender parity in worship tests the boundary between constitutional morality and theological autonomy, which is never easily demarcated. Religious traditions do evolve but through internal reform rather than under judicial directive. Beliefs draw legitimacy from continuity.

R. Narayanan,
Navi Mumbai

Sir — The Central government has, in the past, supported a review of the 2018 Supreme Court decision allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple. The solicitor-general, Tushar Mehta, informed the Supreme Court in 2020 that the Government of India supports a review of the 2018 decision. Reversing the verdct would violate the right to equality under Article 14. Freedom of religion under Article 25 also states that all persons have the right to freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate their religion.

Jang Bahadur Singh,
Jamshedpur

From the margins

Sir — The A.K. Ramanujan Prize was awarded to Sipra Mukherjee and Mrinmoy Pramanick for translating the work of the Dalit poet, Kalyani Thakur Charal, into English. This is a moment of quiet significance. It recognises not only the labour of translation but the long neglect of voices that have remained marginalised in Bengali literature. That it takes an English-language prize to foreground a Dalit woman poet from Bengal should prompt reflection on how uneven recognition is within our literary culture.

Roshni Ojha,
Calcutta