Outlook – July 06, 2019

ON E-MAIL Ram Avadheesh: Taken

in its totality, the figure that your cover

story on rare genetic diseases in

Indians (Genageddon, June 24) is hair

raising. As a society, we respond to the

situations that surround us—the cases

of malignant ailments that affect our

near and dear ones, and sometimes,

that odd case of a relative-of-a-relative

diagnosed with an inexplicable, dan-

gerous disease. So, your worldview

automatically prioritises the catego-

ries of health dangers out there: cancer

is mostly number one, followed by

others. Doctors and scientists also

work more on finding cures for the

high priority diseases.

I had never been confronted with the

entirety of rare genetic diseases till

now. Seventy million is surely a huge

number! It goes to show that even

if, as a conglomerate of modern civil-

izations, we are getting better pre-

pared against the diseases that

threaten us, and that if you have more

money, you are better equipped to

fight the ailments that you can be pot-

entially afflicted with, a part of biolog-

ical suffering has remained forever

arbitrary, not differentiating between

the rich and the poor.

A Wave Is Lost

HYDERABAD J.S. Acharya: Refer

to Boiled Beans On Toast (June 24).

A perennial genius and a liberal to the

core, playwright, actor and film-maker

Girish Karnad’s death brings down the

curtains on a life that was dedicated to

art and literature in every possible

sense. The success of his play Yayati

initiated a journey that saw him pen

critically-acclaimed plays, including

Hayavadana, often counted among the

most important plays post independ-

ence. Then, he wrote the screenplays

of Kannada films like Samskara and

Vamsha Vriksha, co-directed by B.V.

Karanth, that ushered in the new wave

of Kannada cinema. But for a later gen-

eration of film audiences, especially

that of Hindi films, he will be known

for his acting roles rather than for his

great intellectual achievements. By the

early part of the millennium, Girish

Karnad became a prominent social

voices and there was rarely a social

cause that he had not commented on.

At times, he incurred the wrath of fel-

low artistes too. Once, for example,

he had disparaged Naipaul and Tagore,

which prompted a sharp reaction from

filmmaker M.S. Sathyu.

Ele-cycle Eclipse

SECUNDERABAD K.R.

Srinivasan: This refers to Elephants

Can’t Recycle (June 24). The BJP

proved too hot for the SP-BSP alliance

in the Lok Sabha polls. BSP chief

Mayawati’s decision to sever ties with

the SP clearly indicates that the alli-

ance was a non-starter. In fact, the

bonhomie between ‘bua-bhatija’

during the campaign was only a farce

to cheat the electorate. Therefore,

Mayawati’s remarks days after the

ann ouncement of Lok Sabha results

do not come as a surprise. Similarly,

the silence of Akhilesh Yadav indicates

that the alliance was a blunder in the

first place. All said and done, it is a

wake-up call to both parties that voters

cannot be taken for granted. Such an

alliance among ideologically disparate

parties with no common interest or

programme just to prevent the BJP

from gaining power is not something

voters will take to kindly.

Wither Education?

BANGALORE H.N.Ramakrishna:

This refers to the column Weapons Of

Mass Instruction (June 17). Over the

last decade, China has pushed aggres-

sive plans to gain technological domi-

nance. The results can be seen in the

global rankings of universities—many

Chinese universities feature amongst

the best. Indian institutions like the

IITs still have a long way to go. For

years, employers have lamented that

they are unable to recruit people with

the right skill-sets. Colleges in India

churn out millions of graduates, but

not many of them are employable.

Experts opine that India must improve

the quality of courses and teachers. It

must also overcome a culture that val-

ues conventional education more than

job-oriented vocational training. We

need to focus on vocational training.

While it is good that many more

Indians are going to school than ever

before, the level of education remains

poor. Government schools are mostly

poorly funded and ill-managed.

Students from rural areas lack the

skills to thrive in today’s technolo-

gy-driven world. We need to recruit

quality teachers by offering attractive

letters

The Strained Truth

PUNE Anil S.

We bestow to fate that which we cannot fully comprehend, but comprehend we must.

one-liner

June 24, 2019

4 OUTLOOK 8 July 2019