Murky green

• Sir - It is common practice to bring small potted plants to work. This, it is believed, livens up the workspace and is also supposed to be comforting to the eyes. I recently read an interesting report about a German photographer, Frederik Busch, who has chronicled the sad state of neglect that these plants are left in after being brought in to alleviate the drudgery of office life. His photographs are saddening. He rightly says that of all things in an office, the plants have the hardest time. "They cannot walk away, they cannot take a break, they cannot quit their job, they just have to do or die," says Busch.

Yashodhara Sen,

Calcutta

Promising rise

• Sir - It is sad that Rahul Gandhi is inheriting a Congress whose reputation has been maligned by senior leaders who spent their time in power filling their pockets. I admire Rahul Gandhi for his honesty and for his guts in taking on the challenge of fighting a seasoned and wily politician like Narendra Modi. It is his honest approach, that puts him at the receiving end of vicious online trolling at times, that will help him in the end. Rahul Gandhi has all the qualities needed to be a good leader and with sage advice he will certainly be able to work for the good of the country.

B.K. Nundee,

Calcutta

• Sir - It has become a trend of sorts to belittle Rahul Gandhi. If he indeed is such a failure then why do the bigwigs in the Bharatiya Janata Party not simply ignore him? Why is he always being targeted by the likes of Amit Shah and Narendra Modi, not to mention their troll brigade? In reality, Rahul Gandhi, owing to his honesty and his background, poses the biggest threat to the BJP.

Even though the BJP's zealous propaganda about achchhe din and development may have brought it victory in Uttar Pradesh, the fact remains that the Congress defeated the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine in Punjab and also fared much better than the BJP in Goa and Manipur. That the BJP managed to form the government in two of these places through shrewd political manipulations is another matter. But the higher vote share of the Congress in these states has made the BJP wary.

Rahul Gandhi is often accused of being ignorant about the Indian culture and its values. But can the imposition of Hindutva on a diverse population, killing people for their views or the kind of meat they consume, infringing on the dietary habits of certain sections of society be called Indian culture? If so, then Rahul Gandhi is indeed ignorant about this culture. When the BJP and the saffron brigade excoriated Manmohan Singh they called it constructive criticism, but if Rahul Gandhi says something against the promised 'achchhe din', it becomes a personal attack on Modi. Such hypocrisy will be exposed sooner rather than later.

Kajal Chatterjee,

Calcutta

History lessons

• Sir - It is not surprising to see that the Bharatiya Janata Party is uncomfortable with the president, Ram Nath Kovind, heaping praises on the erstwhile ruler of Mysore, Tipu Sultan. Kovind recently hailed Tipu Sultan, saying that the latter died a "heroic death". BJP leaders, however, leave no opportunity to malign Tipu Sultan because of his religion. This and the derogatory comments made about the Taj Mahal and its maker, prove that the party is trying to paint history in communal colours by distorting facts.

Kovind should be lauded for praising Tipu Sultan. His constitutional post requires him to be above party politics. By not going down the path that is being taken by his former party, he has done just this. No one can fault him on maintaining protocol.

Md. Ahtesham Ahmad,

Burdwan

• Sir - There was no need for the president, Ram Nath Kovind, to mention Tipu Sultan in his joint address to the Karnataka legislature. Kovind praised Tipu Sultan, calling him a hero for fighting against the British. The history surrounding Tipu Sultan is murky, historians do not agree on whether he was a benevolent ruler or a murderer. Kovind has stirred the hornet's nest in the midst of the controversy surrounding the celebration of Tipu Jayanti in the state. Moreover, given the destruction that was caused by the rains in several parts of the state raking up a controversial issue was in poor taste. The speech writers of the president should have exercised more caution.

K.V. Seetharamaiah,

Hassan, Karnataka

• Sir - The BJP was not associated with the freedom struggle and as such will not understand the importance of Tipu Sultan, whose valiant fight against the British was a key moment in India's journey towards independence. There is a lot of doubt about whether Tipu Sultan can be charged with committing excesses. Even if the accusations are to be believed, he is not the only ruler to have done so. It also has to be understood that those times were vastly different from the times we live in. On the other hand, Tipu Sultan has been commended by several people for being a benevolent ruler. The saffron brigade has a tendency of trying to defame historical figures based on religious biases and without any knowledge of facts. It is high time that BJP ministers and the party cadre are given lessons in history.

S. Kamat,

Alto Santa Cruz, Goa