Letters to the Editor: Shameful figures of hunger

India ranked 107 out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022, with its child wasting rate at 19.3 percent being the highest in the world. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels. In Asia, Afghanistan, with a rank of 109, is the only country behind India. Neighbouring countries—Pakistan (99), Bangladesh (84), Nepal (81) and Sri Lanka (64)—have all fared better than India. In 2021, India ranked 101 out of 116 countries, while in 2020, the country was placed in the 94th position. The figure thus revealed is very shameful because of the figures of our neighbouring countries, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, which are better than ours. The government should ponder this issue.

Jahangir Ali

Guwahati

Promotional space for Assamese films!

It has become a trend for a few Assamese film producers to use educational institutions as promotional spaces for their pictures. Is it justifiable to select colleges and schools in Assam to advertize their products? In my opinion, this practice is totally uncalled for. They can choose another forum for the purpose. Educational institutions and students should not be easy targets for all.

We sincerely wish that Assamese films, Assamese culture, and Assamese language flourish for all times to come! We get elated when Assamese films shine and win laurels. However, I am pained to point out that a few singers and film makers from Assam exposed their true colours in the eyes of the Assamese people when they backed out of the CAA movement and also did not raise their eyebrows or voice any protest when the state government decided to replace Assamese with English in subjects like science and mathematics from the lower classes of Assamese medium schools.

Prafulla Dowarah

Guwahati

Bedi, the gentle giant

Bishan Singh Bedi was a magician with a ball in his hand. Armed with a fluid action and with that mesmerizing ability to use the crease to the full, the great master bamboozled opponents with his craft. It is said that when Bedi came on to bowl, the batsmen used to be an anxious lot. They dreaded the sight of the spinner. Blessed with a great action, Bedi had the uncanny ability to beautifully flight the ball the way he liked, much to the chagrin of the batsmen. He will always be described as one of the top left-arm unorthodox bowlers of his trade. As captain of the Indian team in 22 tests, the spin magician mentored and guided plenty of cricketers who went on to rewrite history in their own way. As many past cricketers vouch, he had astounding adeptness at spotting talents.

Bedi's aggressiveness as a leader came to the fore in the famous Port of Spain test against the West Indies, when India successfully chased an improbable target of 403; only once before had a team scored more than 400 runs in the fourth inning. Any other captain would have settled for a draw, but not Bedi, who had those masters—Gavaskar and Vishwanath—in his team. However, what made the legend stand apart from other great cricketers was his unique personality. Bedi was an outspoken gentleman who never shirked his responsibilities or shied away from expressing his views on things that mattered. Fighting for the cause of his teammates came naturally to the spin-ace. He was a gentle giant, soft with his teammates, but a rebel who took on the establishment with aplomb. He will be missed.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat

Akola

Bedi’s death is an irreparable loss

Legendary left-arm spinner Bishen Singh Bedi’s demise comes as a big shock, and his passing away is an irreparable loss to the world of cricket. From the bylanes of Amritsar to the Indian cricket team, Bedi forged his way into cricketing folklore by becoming a part of the famed spin quartet, which was a revolution of sorts in India’s spin bowling history. While Bedi was known as the magician of left-arm spin bowling, who could make the ball hold or hurry at will as it traversed the winding arcs in the air, he was equally well known for his benignity and as a human being par excellence.

Ten years ago, when I had the opportunity to interact with Bedi for a few minutes during his address at the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture in Chennai, the bowling genius was candid in his views about the IPL and said he totally disliked it as he felt that it tampers with the purity of the game and made no bones about expressing his disapproval of the shenanigans associated with it. Bedi vehemently opposed politics entering into cricket in any form. And it came as no surprise that when the idea of erecting a statue for the former and late Finance Minister and DDCA president Arun Jaitley at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium was broached, Bedi gave up his DDCA membership and firmly suggested his name be removed from the Kotla stand. Bedi remains an esteemed figure in Indian cricket, celebrated for his artistry and his unflinching passion and dedication towards the game. It is a gift of our times that the legendary spinner graced the game across the globe.

Ranganathan Sivakumar

Madipakkam, Chennai