Readers letters: Indian Statue of Unity upsets people, Indian cricket team needs to work on their line-up and more
Readers write about the Indian festival of Diwali, cricket and politics
What you need to know:
- The Indian Statue of Unity has readers divided.
- Readers comment on the line-up of the Indian cricket team and how players like K. L. Rahul need to be given more chances.
- A reader discusses the importance of teaching children to care for animals.
Animals need to be protected
Animals have the kindest of hearts (“Save an abandoned animal”, Gulf News, November 6). If you show them your love and affection, they will always love you back without reluctance. About five years ago on a rainy winter evening while on holiday, I went out for a walk. A few minutes away from my room I saw a few children who were around seven or eight ears old trying to drown a kitten in a puddle. Now you must be thinking that these children were monsters but before you judge them, they weren’t taught how to handle animals. I yelled at them but it worked in vain, they didn’t understand what I meant nor did they get scared when I told them to stop.
My father and I took the beautiful little grey and white kitten back home to dry it up and give it some food.
My father and I took the beautiful little grey and white kitten back home to dry it up and give it some food. But the kitten was in terrible pain and couldn’t eat or drink anything. We couldn’t find its mother either. A night after we took the kitten to the vet the poor soul couldn’t survive. We should try and teach children to love and respect all creatures.
From Ms Samama Reza
UAE
Not a big cost
This is with reference to the statue of Indian politician Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel that was recently constructed in the Indian state of Gujarat (“World’s tallest statue inaugurated in India”, Gulf News, November 1). On the one hand I applaud the gesture of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for erecting the tallest statue in the wold. But on the other, he is being criticised by many because of this decision. The cost factor has upset people, even though it did create job opportunities for many. The cost of the monument has gone into crores and that is unacceptable. But everything said, I think Patel deserves to stand tall in his hometown for his achievement and contribution towards our country.
From Mr K. Ragavan
India
No wrong deed done
The world has reached the moon, but people are still misusing blasphemy laws (“Pakistan’s blasphemy laws open to misuse”, Gulf News, November 6)? What crime did she commit? There was an argument and Asia Bibi defended herself. She has the full right to defend herself and there is no evidence that she committed blasphemy. The court set her free. I fully support the court’s verdict.
From Mr Salman K.,
UAE
Facebook comment
A time to celebrate
Diwali is the festival of lights and brings the family together (“Diwali: The festival of lights explained”, Gulf News, November 6). It is a time of celebration and being with family and friends. It is my favourite festival and I enjoy dressing up and eating all the festive sweets. While I have never celebrated Diwali in India, I have heard stories from my parents. This year we decorated our house with lights, flowers and rangoli (sand art). It is such a joyous time of the year and I look forward to it.
From Ms Radhika J.
Sharjah
Dusty weather
My car is dusty, but my wife’s car is worse (“1,073 fines and warnings for dirty vehicles”, Gulf News, May 14). When I check the big parking area near my house, most of the cars are dusty. I assume it must be the case with majority of car owners. Why not add a few fast carwash stations where cars can just drive through with a small charge and get their cars cleaned quickly? People can be charged Dh10 for this service. The wash may not be perfect but at least the cars will be cleaner. In this way, the city will look better, too.
From Mr J. Joseph
Abu Dhabi
Biased decisions?
Congratulations to Virat Kohli and his team for their six-in-a-row series win (“Rohit wants batsmen to learn from first T20 chase”, Gulf News, November 6). After the initial hiccup, the team pulled up their socks to give a ruthless performance in the last two matches to demolish the West Indies team. Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, seemed to bat on a sticky wicket. It is a real surprise as to why K. L. Rahul was never given a chance, especially when Shikhar Dhawan continued to fail. If such consistent chances were given to players like Dinesh Karthik and K. L Rahul, who knows, maybe they too could have scored more than 50 runs in their place. We hope that biased decisions are not made in the future.
It is a real surprise as to why K. L. Rahul was never given a chance, especially when Shikhar Dhawan continued to fail.
From Mr N. Mahadevan
India
A reliable batsman
Congratulations to our most dependable batsman, Rahul Dravid, who has been inducted into the International Cricket Council, Hall of Fame, and has become the fifth Indian to be named in the elite club (“I would want Dravid to bat for my life, Lara says”, Gulf News, October 13). He richly deserved this honour as he has been the unsung hero of Indian cricket. We sincerely hope that this should open the eyes of BCCI and also Sports Ministry to recognise his efforts and his contribution towards cricket. Our nation needs such dedicated, sincere and selfless coaches to lift the morale of promising players. Hope he gets the position of coach on our national team in the future.
Our nation needs such dedicated, sincere and selfless coaches to lift the morale of promising players.
From Ms Janaki Mahadevan
India
A proper selection is needed
As averred by our legendary cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner from the Australian team could be an advantage to Indian captain Virat Kohli and his team. However, it would be foolish for the Indian cricket team to take the new Australian team lightly. They have talented players like Aaron Finch, Usman Khwaja, and the Marsh brothers. Above all Michael Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, who could be a handful in their own den. We are confident that our think tank would have realised their follies especially after what happened during the England tour. I hope Kohli would be wise enough not to repeat such follies and continue to select the best players for the team.
From Mr N. Viswanathan
India
Reduce and recycle responsible
Recently, I visited a book fair, and while I was walking towards the centre, I had a cup and a bottle to throw (“New UAE federal law aims at 75% of waste recycling”, Gulf News, May 9). However, I struggled for 20 minutes, trying to find a trash bin. There was no trash disposal arrangement inside as well. I love cleanliness and in Islam, being clean and keeping your surroundings clean is an important teaching. Unfortunately, I found many people throwing plastic or trash on the side of roads. I think keeping bins in locations is essential to keep the city clean. Plastic waste is a problem all around the world. The authorities should bring awareness for using recyclable plastics or not using any plastics with other alternates. They can have a vending machine for trash that gives a person money for disposing off their rubbish responsibly. They should have stricter fines for people who litter in public. Society needs to get involved in cleaning their cities.
They can have a vending machine for trash that gives a person money for disposing off their rubbish responsibly. They should have stricter fines for people who litter in public.
From Mr Tahir Yamin,
UAE
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