Is Goa the Kashi of the West?
It is likely that the political class serving in the Union ministry consider that of Goa ‘the Rome of the East’ is wrongly called so and instead it is ‘Kashi of the West’. This amounts to a mockery of history. It is a life style, a legacy of colonial rule, which tourism brochures exploit and celebrate by regarding Goa as the ‘Rome of the East’. What’s wrong in that?
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Goa has already been regarded as the Rome of the East by European travellers who visited Goa in the 16 century. This has evoked a sharp reaction from the Hindustan brigade who insist that Goa is not the ‘Rome of the East’ but ‘Kashi of the South’. Even the idea that Goa can both be Rome of the East and the Kashi of the South is repugnant to saffronities who would like to communalize history to eliminate all vestige of colonial legacy in Goa.
Babluis Pereira, Pomburpa
Hoysala temples are world heritage sites
The three Hoysala temples at Belur, Halebid and Somanathapur in Karnataka, which have been declared as ‘World Heritage Sites’ by UNESCO a few days ago, are a reflection of our ancient heritage and a collective memory of the nation. This will no doubt boost tourism to these historically and architecturally significant sites. These sites are the most beautiful and intricate examples of Hindu temple architecture and are a testament to the wealth and power of the Hoysala dynasty, besides providing a unique glimpse into the religious and cultural life of the people who lived there. The news of these three temples having been recognized as world heritage sites isn’t just a headline, but a tale of a community, a story of a nation, and above all a saga that will be told for generations.
Ranganathan Sivakumar, Chennai
Install sanitary-pad dispenser in ladies toilet
A group of citizens has reportedly slammed the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) for the non-functioning of the sanitary-pad dispensers installed in the town’s public toilets. The dispenser includes a sanitary pad refill that dispenses fresh sanitary pads and another unit for disposing of used sanitary pads to be incinerated. It is learnt that such dispensers cost only Rs 25,000 per unit. Given the importance of such a facility it would be prudent for the state government to install a sanitary-pad dispensing unit in every ladies public washroom in the state.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Seafarer grievance regarding exams
The director general of shipping of India has been conducting STCW courses. The online e-learning and exit exam was introduced during the Covid plague. Such courses are of three days duration and exit exam follows and the questions for exam are out of syllabus with no reference to the course.
It is not possible for a seafarer to study questions in one day and sometime jeopardize their jobs through failure. Also one has to have stiff eye contact with the computer screen. This is the grievance of seafarers who are competent at their jobs onboard the ship rather than those sitting in the chair and make such rules and don’t know anything about life at sea. Such exam should be cancelled for the good of our seafarers.
Ashwin Caeiro, Cansaulim
Let peace return fast!
There can be no second opinion that the recent escalation of animosity with one of our very friendly nations like Canada is a culmination of failure of our foreign policy. A careful analysis of the official visits of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi to almost all foreign nations in the world and the just concluded G- 20 Conference will expose the fact our Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has taken pains only to promote the name and fame of PM Modi at a huge cost of tax- payers’ money and not that of our nation in its right perspective, as alleged by the Opposition leaders.
Many sensitive issues of international importance concerning other countries including the murder of the KTF chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen appear to have been handled without diplomatic prudence by our MEA. Even before the din over the murder of Nijjar could settle, Sukhdool Singh alias Sukha Duneke said to be an associate of Nijjar and one wanted by our National Information Agency (NIA) for his links with Khalistan terrorists has been killed!
Canada is a nation which welcomes immigrants and millions of Indians live in absolute peace, holding high positions. It is high time that a quick decision is taken by the Indian government to diffuse the fissures with Canada.
Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai
Handle Canada with care
The diplomatic crisis between India and Canada snowballed after New Delhi suspended visas for Canadians. It also asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence. India cited security threats to its diplomats for stopping the Visa service. New Delhi, also called Canada ‘a haven for terrorists’, a term always reserved for Pakistan. The MEA claimed the Trudeau government has no evidence of India’s involvement in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing. The ugly face-off could take a toll on trade and investments and affect the careers of lakhs of students.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
Will women’s bill promote dynasty?
The Women Reservation Bill, 2023, or the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, was passed with a overwhelming majority in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The bill calls for reservation of one-third or 33% of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.
The bill is good in principle but not entirely good in practice. The bill was introduced to give women adequate representation in Parliament and state legislatures. I am of the opinion that the 33% quota will perpetuate dynastic rule, more so in smaller states. In Goa, for instance, we have 40 legislators.
There are some families in the state that wield great influence in a particular constituency. Over the years, this influence spills over to the neighboring constituencies. These powerful families will be tempted to field their family women folk in such neighbouring constituencies which are reserved for women. Thus a few families will get a stranglehold over politics in the state. The same may not be the case at the national level, but nevertheless it will perpetuate dynastic politics to a large extent.
Robert Castellino, Calangute/Mumbai
Yamaraj meets the victim first
Yogi Adityanath, the UP Chief Minister, after the sad incident that happened in the State’s Ambedkarnagar a few days had said that Yamaraj would be waiting for all those who assault women in the State. In the said incident a Class XI girl riding her cycle was harassed by two motorcycle borne assailants who pulled at her dupatta for which reason she fell on the road and was run over by another motorcyclist coming from behind.
The girl died on the spot. It looks like Yamaraj met the victim before he could meet the assailants! The manner with which these irresponsible leaders use bombastic language is a shame and done to sway the public when those that committed the atrocious and shameful act would probably go scotfree pulling out their political connections.
Srinivas Kamat, Alto St Cruz
