L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Tribute to mother

I appreciate the synecdoche used by Raj Chengappa in his article “Lessons only a mother can teach” (Ground Zero; Sunday Tribune, July 27). A mother is the embodiment of love and sacrifice. Her first concern is always about the wellbeing of her children. The writer raises concern over growing materialism in human life and gives a true message that one should never forget one’s roots and that a mother is an anchor in the hardships of life.

Neeraj Sharma, email

II

The article is a glowing tribute to a perfect mother. Displaying selfless love, affection and understanding, she sacrifices her material comforts to look after the physical, cognitive, social and spiritual development of her children. With her exemplary love for nature and her roots, she inculcates in them finer human values. A mother enables her children to brave the vicissitudes of life, live contentedly and add to society.

D S Kang, Hoshiarpur

Come clean

Reference to the article “The curious case of Ashutosh Maharaj” by Sarbjit Dhaliwal and Umesh Dewan (Sunday Tribune, July 27), why can’t the Punjab Government declare the preacher dead when a team of doctors has already declared him “clinically dead”? Can a state government afford to believe in superstitions like a “dead” human being is in a state of “samadhi”? The government should not go by the wishes of Ashutosh Maharaj’s followers and decline the request of his son to hand over the body for cremation. The Punjab Government must act.

PN Gupta, Sangrur

Getting it wrong

Apropos the article “Language is a tool to be used well” (Sunday Tribune, July 27), the demand of UPSC candidates to annul the Civil Service Aptitude Test conducted in English on the grounds that it is discriminatory against those with a rural background is nothing but a ruse to hide their mediocrity. Not all candidates selected for the All-India Civil Services can be allotted their native state. They may have to work in different capacities when on deputation or otherwise at the Centre where English is the link language. If the demand is accepted, we will need an army of interpreters and translators to help our officers detailed on various assignments in India and abroad.

Hema, Langeri

II

Clearing a competition is a matter of intellect and not just about the knowledge of a particular language. Why is the issue of hegemony of English just being connected to the civil services examination? Many other examinations are conducted in English language. The protesting students should understand the issue and concentrate on hardwork and expand their knowledge, and not simply focus on the language.

Shalley Sharma, Gurdaspur

Email your letters Readers are invited to send their feedback to sundayletters@tribunemail.com The mail should not exceed 150 words.