Letters to the Editor: Prayer to hold APSC CCE 2020 Mains with prior notice

Through you esteemed daily, I request APSC to hold CCE Mains 2020 with a prior notification of 35-40 before the commencement of the examination.

Due to Covid-19 third wave, the duty of health workers like us is round the clock with no scope of leave unless the wave subsides substantially. Also, as there was uncertainty due to court case related to language paper and also the court ordering APSC to not declare Mains schedule without the leave of the court, we were not able to notify the higher authorities in the health department. So without prior 30 days' application we will not get leave to sit for the APSC Mains examination.

So I beg you to give atleast 35-40 days time period before the examination commences. Also, sample/mock question papers will be helpful to resolve the uncertainty about the marking pattern and the difficulty level of questions. This is in favour of your kind consideration and necessary action.

Robin Bora

(borarobin20@gmail.com)

Pay attention to what people like!

Mahatma Gandhi's favorite hymn 'Abide With Me' has been dropped from the closing ceremony of this year's Republic Day. According to the programme of the Indian Army, instead of this tune 'Saare Jahan Se Achcha' will be played. Does this mean that the tune 'Saare Jahan Se Achcha' hasn't been played at that event yet? Not many know how much and which tune is played in the closing ceremony. Due to the topic of removing the tune coming in the discussion, everyone has come to know that 26 tunes will be played in this year's ceremony. The tune 'Abide with Me' has been included in the closing ceremony of Republic Day since 1950. In the year 2020, this tune was removed from the ceremony for the first time. Due to this controversy, it was again included in the ceremony in the year 2021. Now again this tune has been removed from the 'Beating Retreat' ceremony. Many Indian poets have written poems with beautiful descriptions of the country. One of his poems could have been included from 1950 instead of 'Abide with me'. The person who is associated with this soil can best describe India through poetry. Body gets thrilled as soon as we hear the tune of 'Saare Jahan Se Achcha'. This tune is easy to understand. It is not easy for the people of the country to understand it even when 'Abide With Me' is played. In such a situation, it is a distant thing to understand its meaning. Poems written by an Indian man that can be easily understood should be included in the form of a tune. It is a well known fact that there are different views in the country regarding Gandhiji's views. Looking at the removed tune from the point of view of 'Third Party', it is known that the Republic Day celebration is of India and we have heard the tune of a foreign poet in it for many years. Is it fair ? Respecting the poems of the poet is a different point.

There is no doubt that the absence of Mahatma Gandhi's favorite tune will start a new political controversy. What do crores of people of the country like more than personal preference? Or what might they like? This is a very important. The 26 January event has the world's attention, as well as the Beating Retreat ceremony. Which is Indian. That should always be a priority in every field.

Er. Jayesh Rane,

Mumbai

Spreading fake news through social media

Online bullying, misinformation and spreading fake news through social media platforms are growing by the day. Can we know who is the original creator of a content that we view online almost daily? No way can we. When someone shares a video on Facebook or you hop onto YouTube, the content reaches you after it has been passed around, syndicated, and filtered through several sources. But there is no system for truly identifying the original source of that content. This is not the only problem. Across other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, et al, words and photos are getting shared to millions across the globe with little to no curation. Many of the 'forwarded' messages that we receive on WhatsApp daily either have partial or no truths at all. Their contents make it clear that the subterraneous aim of these 'forwards' is to fuel differences and instigate communal hatred and political animosities. Anonymity does breed anti-social behavior. Fake IDs, pseudonyms and unverified user-accounts abound online, giving people ample opportunity to mask their identities as they post messages.

Ranganathan Sivakumar

Chennai – 600 091