Young voices, new politics

What the stir over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has achieved is the emergence of several charismatic young faces whom Gen Z can rally around. This could well shape the political narrative of the future. Staying relevant will be a formidable challenge for all political parties, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party. What is remarkable about these young voices is the depth of their leadership pool. Detain one set of leaders and another steps forward to address the media. That kind of a resilience is remarkable. Their clarity of thought, confidence in expression and ability to articulate their concerns suggest that this is not merely a moment of protest but potentially the beginning of a new political narrative.

Pavan Kumar N.R.,

Shivamogga, Karnataka

Visual indictment

The Hindu’s illustrator deserves compliments for a brilliant and piercing visual (Inside pages, ‘On the draw’, October 11). The depiction of the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, as a fly ruining a glass of milk has captured public anger directed at the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the controversy around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The cartoon reminds us that democracy cannot function when the very umpire tasked with keeping the pitch clean is seen as the contaminant. The Supreme Court of India’s recent questions on voter roll modifications only add weight to this powerful visual.

Instead of clamping down on dissent, the government and the ECI must answer why a routine exercise has instead left lakhs of genuine voters out in the cold.

R. Sivakumar,

Chennai

A day for dam safety

The Srisailam dam across the Krishna river experienced an unprecedented peak inflow of about 25.50 lakh cubic feet per second during the October 2009 floods, with high inflows for nearly 78 hours. On October 3, 2009, the reservoir level reached 896.50 feet, 11.50 feet above the Full Reservoir Level of 885 feet. This extraordinary event underscores the importance of dam safety and resilience. October 3 should therefore be observed every year as India’s National Dam Safety Day.

Y. Abdul Basheer,

Hyderabad