Letters: Readers write about politics, cricket, celebrities and UAE National Day

From Mr Anandkumar Nagabushanam

UAE

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Struggles and obstacles

The article about Varun Gandhi was insightful. I did not know he had suffered so much. It just goes to show that all human beings have struggles. I know he has taken a break from politics, but it would be nice to see him back in the spotlight. The loss of a child is a terrible burden to bare. May he have the strength to put his feet forward and overcome the grief.

From Mr Kabir Rajan

Dubai

A good move

Although it might affect a lot of people expecting such gifts from their relatives living abroad, for the UAE, this decision to ban many cell phones is a good step (“Pakistani expats will pay customs duty for taking home more than 1 phone”, Gulf News, November 26). It will help keep track of the phones coming in and out of the country. It will boost local market and trade, it will help generate tax and customs. However, the only thing the authorities are yet to do is to add another counter for declaring goods one is carrying and it is usually time consuming.

From Mr Hassan Warsi

Sharjah

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UAE National Day

I would like to wish people on the occasion of the UAE National Day. However, we need to keep in mind the fact that we respect the flag of the nation. We mustn’t litter the roads and streets of the country. We must try to be careful while celebrating on road and respect other drivers too.

From Mr Nazim. A

Ajman

Could be managed better

This was the worst organised concert and was clearly oversold (“The Weeknd concert gate closed: What organisers said”, Gulf News, November 24). Why did they shut the gates? I think the crowd was not expected and it was poorly managed. I went, waited and was glad when I left. Organisers should be able to manage people entering and exiting safely, if you shut the gates, what else would you expect? Of course people were upset.

From Ms Jade Lucas

UAE

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Bad selection

After the thumping wins of our women’s cricket team during the preliminary matches, mainly due to the captain’s great performance, it was a real shock to find Mithali Raj missing in the semi-final clash against England (“No regrets over dropping Mithali Raj, says Harmanpreet after defeat to England”, Gulf News, November 25). The series Captain, Kaur, came out with a statement that she has no regrets that Raj was absent and said that it was done in the interest of the team. I think it was a grave mistake to omit such a winning player from the squad, who has scored more than 50 runs, twice in the pool matches and is the top run scorer in Twenty20 league. Ironically, Kaur claims that she had the full support of the selectors while the decision was made. I hope the selectors weighed the strength of each player and were a little more practical in picking the teams for the different tournaments and matches.

From Ms Kavitha Srikanth

India

Not enough action taken

After the Indian Congress President’s disapproval, former Union Minister, C.P. Joshi apologised for his caste remarks against our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and others (“Rebuked by Rahul Gandhi, Joshi apologises for casteist comment”, Gulf News, November 24). Though the Indian Election Commission has issued a notice to Joshi, we are confident that there will be no action taken against him, especially to debar him from contesting the elections. This reminds me of an old saying in Tamil, “Thoongara Kozhandai killivittu thottile attarathu”, which means ‘pinch the sleeping baby and then swing the cradle to stop them from crying’. It is a well-known fact that the Congress President keeps on visiting Hindu temples to appease the Hindu voters and then gives full licence to his well-educated wards to attack Hindu rituals to garner minority votes too. If the Congress President is really disturbed by his members’ comments, then he should dismiss them. His present action of just rebuking Joshi is nothing but akin to shedding crocodile tears.

From Mr N. Mahadevan

India

Random decisions

The recent decision by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs that all Indian expats have to register by the end of this year is yet another badly conceived rule (“Everything we know about the mandatory online registration for Indian expats in 18 countries”, Gulf News, November 26). The website is non-functional. The Indian Consulate does not have the answers. There are thousands of expats traveling to India for Christmas and are returning in the first week of January 2019. Will we be offloaded with our families? Before taking such a kneejerk decision, the authorities should formulate a time bound plan to achieve whatever they are trying to achieve. I am truly embarrassed by the functioning of this present administration. I hope good sense will prevail and this so called decision is implemented in a phased manner.

From Mr Paul Jos

Dubai

Watched Dubai grow

My father arrived in Dubai in the year 1979, and since then, Dubai has been our home. My siblings and I were born here. My mother still remembers the day when Gulf News was launched. She told me that during the launch time we used to receive complimentary copy for many days. Since my childhood I remember Gulf News in our home. We have been loyal subscribers. Till date, my parents only read Gulf News. They have many wonderful memories attached with the growth of UAE. Even I have seen so much development. For example, I have seen the the construction of Deira City Center when we used to go past in our school bus.

From Ms Ranya Jawed

Dubai

Celebrity frenzy

It is no secret that the world is obsessed with celebrities (“Ranveer Singh picks Manish Arora for wedding dinner”, Gulf News, November 26). We were reminded of this when the internet came to a standstill, waiting for Bollywood couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone’s wedding pictures. People posted statuses about the event and breathed a literal sigh of relief when the couple released their pictures on social media. Where has this celebrity-obsession come from? Why? While I love everything about it, maybe we should put a handle on the amount of importance we give people who don’t even know we exist. Social media has let us pry into the lives of so many individuals, and while it makes us feel like we are a part of something bigger, being obsessed with filmstars and singers is not healthy. Maybe it is time to review our priorities?

From Ms Alia Mathur

UAE

All about perspective

We are in this world to achieve our dreams, in the hope of being successful and happier. There are two ways to achieve your dreams, you might think a positive and a negative attitude is the answer. It all depends on one’s approach. You should do your job, your work as a normal business as usual and wait for something to happen, this approach is positive but is a slow, unenthusiastic, unenergetic approach of handling things that comes your way. Second way is to go the extra mile, where you do more, wherever you are. Often experts say you will progress only in a job you enjoy. If I had to add to this, I’d say: Whatever job you do try to enjoy it, you will progress. This approach of going the extra mile will make you satisfied, keep you energetic, enthusiastic and progressive even when you feel demotivated. Don’t hold yourself back. God will open a door for you, which will be better than what you are waiting for.

From Mr Nabeel Awan

UAE

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