A lost childhood
The desire to do well, to excel in academics and to emerge as a winner in the rat race of too many students chasing too few good universities has forced children to leave behind their childhoods too soon. The ever increasing pressure of schools coupled with a parent’s desire to have nothing but the best for their child in terms of universities, kills the ‘child’ instinct in a pupil.
Gone are the days when children used to play for hours with friends, spend time with relatives and pursue hobbies. Today, all this is considered a waste of time lest a child slips two per cent academically. It’s a pity. One should aim high, but not at the expense of the days gone by. A childhood can never be gotten back, so cherish it while you have it.
From Ms Deepali Chaturvedi
Abu Dhabi
Grateful for them
The world depends on people who are willing to work through the holidays (‘Essential workers go about their duties with a smile,’ Gulf News, October 5). They are doing the best they can for all of us to maintain a clean city. Without them, we cannot dream of a fresh morning! But still, we must remember that often these workers work very hard and have low salaries.
From Mr Jahed Hassan
Dubai
Facebook comment
Another innocent life
It’s really sad that an innocent man who came to help the Muslims that are suffering at the hands of Daesh had to pay the price of his country’s foreign policy (‘Britons mourn Henning, ‘national hero’ killed by Daesh,’ Gulf News, October 5). My friends who knew him personally said he was a very friendly and helpful person. What’s funny is that the Daesh courts found him not guilty. He was innocent even to them, but he was executed due to UK’s refusal to stop airstrikes on Iraq and refusal of ransom money.
From Mr No’man Nasser
Dubai
Facebook comment
No real friends
I am not surprised at all that the US vice President Joe Biden made such a negative statement (‘UAE astonished at US vice President’s statement,’ Gulf News, October 6). This is how the US tends to deal with other countries, even ones that are supposed to be allies. First, they play ‘the blame game’, and then they miscalculate the news and show incorrect proofs. I don’t think that the US can ever truly be a friend of any one country.
From Mr Abdullah
Dubai
Website comment
Work together
The US has always worked to keep differences between the states in the Arab region, and I don’t think they want peace to prevail in this part of the world. It will be important for Arab countries to work together to ensure a better problem-free part of the world where people from all communities can live in peace.
From Mr Sadiq
Dubai
Website comment
Things are changing
There has been a revolutionary change in Indian politics over the past few years as one can see through how India’s most affluent woman organises a legitimate campaign (‘India: Country’s richest woman campaigns like a commoner,’ Gulf News, October 5). The people are now voting for the candidates based on their past performances and not on their family, wealth or even the party that they belong to. This is an indication of good times to come, as the candidates have to perform to stay in power. In addition to this, the recent punishment to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram for her acts is a further deterrent for other politicians. I think that over the next 10-year period to come, it will be difficult to find a corrupt politician in India.
From Mr Suhas Inamdar
Dubai
Website comment
Fraud allegations
This is not unusual in politics anywhere, more so in Asian countries, where politicians don this role for the campaign to seek votes and once elected, they choose to neglect their electorate completely. The Jindal family has been favoured in business and are also allegedly involved in the coal scam allocation. Can this woman claim ignorance about this mess? Can she truthfully claim that she and her sons have done business without resorting to fraud?
From Mr Raja S.
Sharjah
Website comment
Sherlock Holmes the great
I am arguably one of the greatest fans of Sherlock Holmes and his adventures have always motivated me (‘Letters to the editor: Best fictional character ever, Gulf News, October 3). Holmes’ last adventure, ‘Sherlock Holmes and the illustrious client’ has proved to be beneficial and exciting for all ages. This adventure has got suspense with excitement in it. This is about how a woman is hypnotised by a criminal to marry him. With that he also confessed a part of his sins and had warned against Sherlock Holmes.
This story can be his last adventure that we can read from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s own writing. Sherlock uses his memory and his skills to convince the wife about her husband’s criminal nature by showing her a book written by the criminal about the ‘souls he had ruined’.
Doyle has a way in showing these mysteries in our minds. His books have helped me in increasing my keen observational skills and my detective skills. He has motivated me by showing different ways to solve a problem. This is a beneficial book to people who like reading mystery novels and suspense thrillers. I recommend reading this book and understanding the ways in which Sherlock thinks.
From Mr Paul Byju
UAE
Lessons from the Scottish referendum
After almost three centuries of association with London, Scotland tried to say ‘No’ to unity once again. Those who believe that this is not the right time for a ‘Yes’ vote succeeded by 55 per cent. The big achievement is that the Scots achieved a 90 per cent voter turnout.
Now after the referendum, the British are discussing greater autonomy for Scotland’s counties. Scots will achieve this greater autonomy. The lessons other countries have learnt from the referendum is that this is not the right time for independence, but it is the right time to fight for greater rights while living within the existing system.
Provincial autonomy is far away and I think that all provinces are suffering more due to this. The last Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government passed the 18th amendment from parliament, which further strengthened provincial autonomy, and I believe that was a good step forward, but on the implementation side of things, nothing has changed. The federal government is still keeping many ministries and they have even formed new ministries to keep powers within the federal setup.
Many of our political parties are not seeing beyond “Go Nawaz Go”, and their aim is to wrap up the whole system, which will ultimately hurt national harmony.
I think this is right time for the government to sincerely implement the 18th amendment and to discuss and debate more autonomy for the provinces. Thanks to Scotland and their political parties, the world is debating more autonomy and the strengthening of systems at a grass roots level. I hope Pakistan will follow the same to remain intact forever.
From Mr Aijaz Ali Khuwaja
Karachi, Pakistan
Modi following through
The recent successful visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US has created a buzz of both positive and negative content in print media. There seem to be more negative comments than positives one, especially in the Middle East news media.
The big editorial write-ups reminding Modi to do his homework is laughable because he has been working towards the mandate of India’s massive electorate. The result can be seen already in the first 100 days of his administration, leading India from the front and taking the country in the right direction. Modi is well known as a man of passion and action the way he speaks needs no reminder.
The people in India have entrusted Modi with a task and our honourable Prime Minister of India has humbly accepted and is working towards achieving and elevating India to the next level. India’s growth story is making many neighbourssleepless, which is healthy and motivates Modi and his team to deliver more in the coming years.
From Mr Raghu Menon
UAE
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