Letters to The Editor — May 3, 2025

Census, caste, reservation

Reservation was introduced to correct historical injustices, and even Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had said it should be a temporary measure. But seven decades after Independence, political parties are still using it for vote-bank interests. There is now competition among parties to increase reservations — not out of concern for the poor, but to secure power.

Perhaps the government must limit reservation to 25%, and for economically poor families, irrespective of caste. All upper castes are not rich and not all backward classes are poor. Helping the truly needy should be the goal. Let us aim for a casteless society.

T. Kailash Ditya,

Hyderabad

The motive, intent and purpose of the caste rhetoric is for nothing but a few more seats, and thus power in the great Indian election circus. We have developed a respectable aura around social engineering in the electoral calculus and many seem to pride themselves at being past masters in the art of election success by cobbling up appropriate caste narratives and equations. It is time India migrates to economic criteria in order to target affirmative action.

Jose Abraham Kattiparambil,

Vaikom, Kottayam, Kerala

It should be ensured that reservation must not cross the 50% limit at any cost. The Census must identify those in genuine need of support. The Census must include the total income of the family in a month and also immovable assets.

Parthasarathy N.,

Chennai

Indian orange economy

The Prime Minister has said that “foreign consumers are consuming Indian entertainment with subtitles” (“Modi champions ‘orange economy’ at WAVES”, May 2). But, I feel that the standard of Indian films and songs in the last few decades or so has left a lot to be desired. The songs of the 1960s and 1970s (in all Indian languages) were so melodious and meaningful, that our utility from them will never get saturated. There should be a renaissance of that culture as far as the film/tinsel world is concerned to cheerfully claim that the ‘orange economy’ (creative economy), in the real sense of the term, has dawned in India. In the digital era, there is much for creative minds to come up with products for public consumption. It is imperative that creators do their bit responsibly, to keep their audience entertained and enlightened.

S. Ramakrishnasayee,

Chennai