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Irresponsible behaviour It needs to be mentioned that the Western Railway has done a gross disservice to its thousands of hapless commuters by being a party to the organising of the ‘flash mob’ at Churchgate station, during peak hours on Wednesday (‘Why this Kolaveri, police ask ‘mob,’ December 22). Reportedly this Kolaveri Di madness at Churchgate station was organised by a prominent city tabloid; the group itself being in the forefront to promote this mass hysteria. Be that as it may, it is incredulous that the top officials of the Western Railway permitted this mob frenzy in their heritage premises, ignoring all safety norms. To add insult to injury, the railway spokesperson had the audacity to say that Dhanush, the Kolaveri hero, would ‘create awareness about cleanliness and trespassing’! The police was quite justified in objecting to this ‘mob event’ since the city can expect terrorist attacks, any time. If any such a catastrophe had happened would the railway authorities, the tabloid or Dhanush have taken any responsibility? —Chandramohan, Mumbai We are not alone With the discovery of the exo-planet Kepler 22b as the most likely candidate for harbouring alien life, the quest for finding an ET has received a shot in the arm. More and more galaxies are being discovered in deep space with the help of some newly-launched advanced telescopes. Each of these star clusters is estimated to contain billions of stars, old and young ones alike. Under the circumstances, by employing the statistical probability techniques, it would be safer to assume that we, the air-breathing earthlings, are not alone in this segment of the observable universe. —Arun Malankar, Mumbai School bus operators, don’t hold us to ransom This is in reference to the school bus strike called by the bus operators. The strike has adversely affected parents and children. Strikes had been banned and the Bombay high court had penalised a political party for giving a bandh call which paralysed the city. Should action not be taken against the bus operators? Due to the bus strike, cars were out in large numbers and parents had no alternative but to drop the child to school early in the morning. Rickshaws were also in demand and the inconvenience to the school children who could not get transport in time had to be seen to be believed. Can bus operators hold the school children to ransom? Is this what we are teaching the young generation who are bound to be tomorrow’s leaders? If the bus operators have a problem with the RTO, they can have negotiations or take the RTO to court. —Mahendra Kalantri, via email Why this discrimination? DNA has reported the demise of PK Iyengar who is among the small group of scientists who catapulted India in the field of nuclear technology. A comparison of the news article on Iyengar, a recipient of several national honours, and the write-ups that appeared on film celebrities who passed away, shows the perception of the media on the importance given to the field of science and technology. —PRV Raghavan, via email Condemn violence on Christians too The Russian government did not protest when right wing Hindu terror groups in 2008 were burning Bibles, vandalising churches, breaking the idols of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary and targeting Christians in Orissa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Look at how the Indian government has gone full throttle in protesting over an issue of the Russian translation of the Gita being banned in Russia even before a local junior court could deliver the judgement on the ban. —Jorge Monteiro, Mumbai II A petition has been made in court in another country asking for a ban on the Bhagawad Gita and here we are talking as if the book has been banned. And if the court rules in favour of the petitioner, why should we ask the Executive to over rule the court? It would be much better if we followed our religious texts faithfully instead of fighting over them. —Anthony Henriques, via email Bharat Ratna row Though the chairman of the Press Council of India justice Markandey Katju’s remark that a cricketer or a Bollywood star does not deserve the most prestigious civilian award of the country Bharat Ratna is debatable, many like me believe that the award should only be given to those who made a real difference to the nation and not to those who earn a living by entertaining others. Whether Mirza Ghalib or Sarat Chandra Chatterjee should be given the award posthumously, as has been done in the past, or not may depend upon the selection committee but there are several deserving candidates who are alive. —Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad A year of losses Barring the hopes raised by Anna Hazare through his agitation against rampant corruption, 2011 was pretty ordinary as we witnessed depressing events, which demoralised everybody (‘Individuals sparkle in unremarkable year for India,’ December 22). Also, the deaths of stalwarts in the field of arts and entertainment such as Shammi Kapoor, Jagjit Singh, Dev Anand, Sultan Khan, Bhupen Hazarika and Bhimsen Joshi who had us spellbound with their performances, have left a void, which is almost impossible to fill. It is the performances of such artistes that every Indian looks forward to for a brief relief from the tribulations in a life that is becoming very hectic and difficult. —Ketan Meher, via email The editor welcomes your views and feedback: inbox@dnaindia.net