3 days ago
Letters to The Editor — August 13, 2025
Allegations of 'vote theft'
In India, the word 'election' is one that evokes immense civic pride in a citizen. Therefore, it is the duty of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that the entire election system ensures a fair poll as the running of a democracy rests on this. But why is the ECI not responding to the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of 'vote theft' if it has nothing to hide? And why is Mr. Gandhi not submitting his claims in writing? The ECI seems more intent on condemning the messenger than confronting wrong-doing.
Baani Bhabha,
Ambala, Punjab
Human-elephant conflict
The report, 'World Elephant to be celebrated in Coimbatore today' (August 12), is perhaps the right moment to highlight how tourists harass elephants. Video footage of a tusker nearly trampling a tourist in Bandipur on August 10 is an example of unchecked tourism and tourists not following the rules. The 'selfie craze' is to blame. There are videos on YouTube of local people harassing elephants in the tea gardens of West Bengal and Assam. These clips show youngsters running behind herds and teasing the animals and the 'mass entertainment' it gives them when the angry animals react. What are the State Forest Departments doing?
Samriddhi Boppiah,
Valparai, Tamil Nadu
Community participation
Medicine has the speciality called 'community medicine' that specifically focuses on community engagement and empowerment to achieve 'community health'.
The fact is that there are a number of public health specialists in India with a Masters in Public Health (MPH). Such community physicians and public health specialists should actively seek out major roles so that national health programmes have meaningful community engagement.
Dr. Kavuru Ravindra,
Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh
