MyVoice: Views of our readers 14th February 2025

Heinous culture of ragging persists

Some colleges in Kerala are witnessing incidents of ragging of juniors by seniors that are brutal and sa-distic in nature. The Government College of Nursing in Kottayam is now in the news about alleged rag-ging of juniors who endured brutal physical and mental assaults. They were tied to cot, one of the vic-tims had gymnasium weights placed on private parts being hung upside down, with slashes made by a geometry box divider and lotion applied on the wound. The ragging had been going on for nearly three months. It is time to take strict action against these ruffians. One wonders what kind of caretakers these individuals would become for their patients.

K V Raghuram, Wayanad

Ensure quotas truly empower BCs

The proposed 42% BC quota in local body polls in TG, should yield good dividends provided the same is implemented without strings attached. That is, hitherto, we have seen a dummy BC or SC or ST candi-date is selected to contest and after the election this dummy candidates makes way for his or her mentor to be the proxy. This is how political reservations are circumvented in India. During 2019-24 in AP the then ruling YSRCP also practised this kind of political reservation for the local body polls rather success-fully. But subsequent development at the ground level all he’ll broke loose when the proxies started as-serting themselves, thus exposing the flaws in the game!

Govardhana Myneedu, Vijayawada

Heed SC judges’ caution on freebies

Hats off to our two Supreme Court Judges Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Mish for their thought-provoking observation regarding the freebies that our political parties promise just before elec-tions. Justice B R Gavai in his apropos comment strongly felt that, “unfortunately, because of these free-bies...People are not willing to work.” He further observed that whether through these freebies we are not creating a class of parasites? Hope people concerned are listening to them.

Dr A B sai Prasad, Bengaluru

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Because of freebies only, our neighbouring country Sri Lanka has totally collapsed. It is well established that every election season, political parties across the country make ambitious commitments in a bid for electoral success. Instead of freebies, they should promise welfare schemes like free education and free health to poor. N K Singh, the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, has said that “the freebie cul-ture is not a road to prosperity. It is a passport to fiscal disaster”. So, there is a need to stop this “Revri” culture.

Zakir Hussain, Kazipet

Consistency matters more

Players making tons at one time and getting zeros in another one is not appreciable in any game. In third and final ODI cricket match played at Ahmedabad on February 12, the famously named hit man Rohit Sharma made a single run while he made a century in second ODI. Virat Kohli also could not prove his mettle effectively. What is required from rated batsmen is to score minimum 30 to 50 runs. Congrats to the entire team for winning all three matches with aplomb.

N S K Prasad, Hyderabad

Modi has a tough task on his hands

The new Trump regime is bring driven by the MAGA (Make America Great Again) fervour and Trump supporters see Indians who enter the US on H1B Visas as the ones who snatch American jobs by decid-ing to stay back in US by applying for Green Cards. Indian students who go to US on student visas do not come back to India and rather prefer staying back in the US in search of greener pastures. Under the new Trump regime, immigration policies are going to get tougher, and PM Modi needs to make clever diplomatic moves to see the Indian diaspora feels secure there. PM Modi has to pull off balancing acts and use his influence to make Trump end the Russia Ukraine War and peace is restored in West Asia.

Parimala G Tadas, Hyderabad

Importance of radio hasn’t diminished

In 2025, the role of radio in tackling climate change is more important than ever, offering platform for conversations that promote environmental sustainability and inspire action. Hence, the theme for World Radio Day 2025 (February 13) is chosen as “Radio and Climate Change: A Powerful Tool for Climate Ac-tion”. The key theme is focus on climate action, accessibility and reach, community engagement, diverse voices, environmental awareness, and promoting sustainability. Let’s recognise radio’s power in inspir-ing global change. Let’s make use of radio for our daily freshness of mind and soul.

Dr Madhusudhan Reddy Burra, Karimnagar