MyVoice: Views of our readers 22nd June 2020

A boy's sacrifice to feed his family

This is with reference to the report 'Class 12 student handles Covid bodies for mother's medicines, school fees' (June 18). It was heartrending to read how the mother of Chand Mohammad gives him his lunchbox as he goes for work, at Seelampur in New Delhi. Chand joined a company which deployed him as a sweeper at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital.

The job requires him to handle bodies of those dying of coronavirus. His work demands an eight hours shift with higher risk of contracting the infection to meet his family's requirements including his mother's thyroid disorder. The report days that due to lack of money, the 20-year-old stated that there were times when his family ate only once in a day to save ration for the next day.

His story was really touching for many. There are many more pitiful situations like this which also includes sacrifices of soldiers, policemen, sanitisation workers and many more working and looking after us. I thank all those for their sacrifice, patience and love towards mankind.

Korivi Monishhaa, Lakshmipuram, Guntur, AP

Uncertainty surrounds Modi's remarks on faceoff

The Indian media should stop invoking Uri and Balakot and focus on naming and shaming China for violating the Wuhan spirit and strategic guidelines to the two militaries. Chinese social media on the dispute has surged reflecting nationalism, a sentiment Beijing is not keen to encourage.

The PLA Daily and People's Daily, official mouthpieces of the PLA and the Communist Party, did not report the clash on June 16 while Global Times covered it briefly on the back page. Xinhua only mentioned the bland official readout of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Galwan skirmish has left a deep scar on India-China relations and bilateral ties will never be the same again. Great uncertainty surrounds Prime Minister Modi's promise of a befitting reply, but his response will probably be economic and diplomatic and not military. In early June, President Trump spoke to Modi and said he was not in a good mood. The fiasco in Galwan would have made it worse.

Naveen Purushotham, Hyderabad

China creeping forward on all borders

On June 15, we were shocked to get the news of Colonel Santhosh Babu (Commanding Officer), along with two soldiers, being martyred in clashes with PLA in Galwan Valley. By June 16, the martyrdom had grown to a total of 20 soldiers, including these three in the same area.

All killed by PLA in cold blood because no arms were carried by our soldiers as per ROE. PLA, of course, had properly made 'killing tools', which resembled weapons from the 'stone age', to circumvent the ROE.

To make matters worse, 10 soldiers, including four officers, who had been taken prisoners probably on June 15, were returned on June 18. What's going on? Is this the treatment that a soldier gets? No one even knows his whereabouts in a combat zone, until he returns on his own!

Now, seething with anger and revenge against such brutalities and deceit by the Chinese PLA, the nation waited for the outcome of all-party meeting (APM) that the PM had called on June 19. And then it came, the same evening, our beloved Prime Minister said, "Neither has anybody intruded into our frontier, nor is any one present there, nor are any of our posts under someone else's occupation".

Technically, all correct words were used but far away from ground realities. Has the LAC been redefined and all the areas up to Chinese perceived line of LAC given away? Chinese "creeping forward" on borders will haunt us forever. Or maybe my little knowledge can make me perceive only this much for now.

Hemanth Kulkarni, Hyderabad