Letters: Readers discuss politics in India, IPL in UAE and more
Another reader asks, ‘Does freedom of speech exist on social media?’
Social media misused
To me, there is nothing surprising in the act by a group of women against abusive remarks against the women community in social media forums (“Women in Kerala thrash YouTuber, throw black ink on him for abusive remarks”, Gulf News, September 27). This has become very common on social media. Unfortunately, nothing much can be done to stop such practices, as there is widespread misuse of social media platforms. Some comments are quite surprising. Those ‘hidden’ social media users, many of them with fake accounts, use insulting words and phrases to attract more ‘likes’, ‘views’ and ‘comments’. I had a similar experience when I shared my thoughts on a newspaper’s Facebook page a few months ago. Those who were opposing my positive and healthy remarks about a piece of news became violent and used abusive language to justify their stand. Nothing can be done to stop that, as there are people to endorse such comments in public forums. I had to delete my comments, as I do not want that to appear in public forums. The state government’s cyber monitoring team should be able to oversee such videos and social media posts, and legal cases must be registered against violating the norms and harming peace and harmony.
From Mr Ramachandran Nair
Muscat, Oman
India: Politicians spar over reopening of temples
Even though the action of Maharashtra chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray, in opening bars, malls and restaurants is questionable, the letter from the Maharashtra Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari is untimely and uncalled for. Moreover, in India, the post of the Governor is just an ornamental post, it is expected to tow in line with the wishes of ministers. Likewise, every political leader in our country, especially the ones heading the state, do change their attitude according to the wishes of his alliance partners, lest he may have to vacate his post. The Maharashtra governor and chief minister are engaged in a war of words over the reopening of religious places in the state, as part of the unlocking of COVID-19 enforced curbs. In the acrimonious exchange of letters, the governor, making a case for reopening places of worship, asked the chief minister if he had “turned secular”. Thackeray shot back a letter, asking if Koshyari does not believe in “secularism as enshrined in the Constitution”. At the same time, taking into account the rapid spread of COVID-19 virus, the chief minister should have avoided this embarrassment. I feel the leaders should be more concerned about the safety of the people of the state and not succumb to the pressures.
From Mr N Viswanathan
Tamil Nadu, India
IPL: Shane Watson and Faf Du Plessis hit the fifties as CSK thrash KXIP by ten wickets
Congratulations to Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the team’s think tank for making timely changes so Kings XI Punjab could play a near-perfect match to gain two points and get a new lease of life (“IPL 2020 in UAE: Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets — as it happened”, Gulf News, October 04). When they promoted Sam Curran to the opening slot, it was Shane Watson who should have accompanied him and not Faf du Plessis. Plessis should have come only at third place followed by Rayadu, Dhoni, etc. I feel playing seven bowlers was risky. Since Jagadeesan played reasonably well in his last outing, dropping him from playing XI was surprising. Thankfully Dhoni and Jadeja saved the night.
From Mr N Mahadevan
Chennai, India