— H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana

Anand

•What occurred in Guwahati during the protest rally of the tribals working in the tea estates is shameful ‘Backstory of Guwahati violence’, It is the duty of every sane citizen of India to honour the freedom of speech and the freedom to organise public demonstrations to demand one’s rights granted by the Constitution. The government should take immediate action against those who inflicted atrocities on the tribals during the November 24 rally in Assam’s capital.

— Fr William

Ahmedabad

Army’s politicisation

•I fully endorse the contents of Lt Col Malhotra’s letter, ‘Forces of honour’. I would also like to add that only pliable officers with political clout ultimately reach the position of chief of army staff. After having reached the top, they start planning for their post-retirement jobs — such as becoming governors. Given this, they cannot afford to raise their voices against the downgrading of their status vis-a-vis bureaucrats and other government officers who are all placed higher than them in the warrant of precedence. However, I do not agree with Col Malhotra on his suggestion that the “soldier must defend his honour”. They are helpless in the face of their commanders taking every act of dishonour lying down.

— Dalip Singh Ghuman

Chandigarh

Novel name

•In the article, ‘Booking lives, living books’, Narasimha Rao’s semi-autobiographical novel was wrongly referred to as ‘The Outsider’. The title of the book is The Insider.

... contd.