Local appeal

Sir — Bengal’s Hooghly district celebrating Arsenal winning the English Premier League after 22 years should not come as a surprise. First, satellite TV and, now, digital streaming have completely transformed the game, making European football leagues truly global and accessible to fans everywhere. Looking at this intense local enthusiasm, one wishes that Indian football, too, enjoyed a similar international following. Unfortunately, the global sporting world does not react with the same excitement to East Bengal winning its maiden Indian Super League title after more than two decades.

Rajatava Sanyal,
Calcutta

Hot air

Sir — The article, “On the margins” (May 27), raises serious concerns about India’s current diplomatic and economic position in an increasingly volatile global order. At a time when major powers are actively shaping geopolitical outcomes in West Asia, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific, there is a growing public perception that India’s foreign policy is relying more on symbolic diplomacy than on sustained strategic influence. The indefinite deferment of the India-Africa Forum Summit and India’s reduced visibility in critical regional negotiations have added to these concerns. In a rapidly changing international environment, India must strengthen its strategic engagement.

Vidyasagar Reddy Kethiri,
Warangal, Telangana

Sir — The greatest danger to a nation begins when citizens stop valuing truth and start prioritising comfort. A country cannot progress on emotion alone while ignoring deep cracks in its economy, governance, and institutions. Today, too many people focus on defending political leaders rather than protecting India’s future. Questioning systemic failures is labeled as negativity, while silence is rewarded as loyalty.

Aditya Kamble,
Kalaburagi, Karnataka

Broken system

Sir — The recent observations made by the Supreme Court regarding the National Testing Agency have raised concerns about the body’s integrity, accountability and transparency (“Many gaps”, May 28). The court questioned how confidential examination material could be accessed so easily, emphasising that public confidence in competitive exams is as important as fairness itself.

Bal Govind,
Noida

Sir — The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is a deeply flawed system, requiring immediate abolition following repeated failures by the NTA. There are growing demands for exemplary punishment for those involved in the paper leaks and for Union education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, to resign.

Tharcius S. Fernando,
Chennai

Erratic weather

Sir — Although extreme heat waves are taking a toll on people globally, the weather in North Bengal, especially the Tarai Dooars region, has been unusually unpredictable this time. Cloudy skies and occasional rains since April have kept temperatures lower than what is typical for May. There is apprehension that such irregular patterns may lead to extreme weather conditions in the future, as climatic behaviour becomes increasingly erratic.

Kumar Khawas,
Siliguri

Uncared for

Sir — An eight-year-old student allegedly complained of feeling unwell at his school in Calcutta, yet no urgent medical response followed and, days later, he died. The tragedy raises troubling questions about the culture of care in educational institutions. This incident should compel schools to revisit their emergency medical protocols, sensitise their staff and strengthen basic standards of student care.

Aloke Kumar Mookherjee,
North 24 Parganas