Signing off at the G-20
What is most appreciable at the G-20 Summit under India’s presidency is that all the members agreed to issue a joint declaration after reaching a consensus on the contentious “Ukraine paragraphs”, the acceptance of the membership of the African Union and the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance. The credit goes to Japan, the G-7 chair, for getting the West on board when it came to Ukraine. The adoption of the Delhi Declaration has helped boost the image of India.
D. Sethuraman,
Chennai
It is now time for all the G-20 nations to walk together and transform the global trust deficit into global trust and confidence. The Delhi Declaration is something phenomenal. It is in fact the area ‘where angels fear to tread’.
S. Ramakrishnasayee,
Chennai
We all are aware of the restrictions imposed in Delhi before the G-20 summit, but there is more to it. A so-called “beautification drive” resulted in the demolition of slums, and sheets and boards being used to cover the ones that were left. A few western media channels have covered this. The very people who are vote banks became victims. According to some animal welfare non-governmental organisations, scores of stray animals were treated in a barbaric manner while removing them from the streets — there are several videos that have surfaced on the Internet. The solution chosen was to destroy or remove anything that should have been improved and worked on earlier in the first place.
Arnabi Mallick,
Kolkata
Leaving India, fitting in
With more numbers of Indians moving abroad in search of a better life and opportunities, they need to understand the laws, systems, and cultural landscape of the country they are emigrating to. Indians have gained notoriety for certain things: corporal punishment, a pinch here, a slap there is tolerated in our cultural context, but the same can land you in trouble in western society. Also, one needs to realise that the West has a strong child welfare agency, unlike our broken system. These officials are trained to identify abuse or trauma. To paint the entire system as culturally prejudiced is an overstatement (Editorial page, September 9).
Ranjith Rajan,
Bengaluru
