Letters to the Editor: Forex drain and brain drain

Forex drain and brain drain

The news item 'Must stop the forex drain due to students going abroad: Dhankar' published in your esteemed daily on October 20 has drawn our attention. The Vice President's remarks during the Silver Jubilee Celebration at Sikar, Rajasthan, have assumed great significance in the present context as the country's foreign exchange reserves have been severely affected due to the large number of students taking admission in institutions abroad. Today one can see the current trend of 'forex drain' and 'brain drain' simultaneously because our talented teachers have failed to educate the students that the situation and the ranking of colleges that they are taking admission to is not-so-rosy. Not to speak of students, young professionals, and skilled workers are also increasingly migrating to other states and countries for better opportunities. But what are the solutions ahead? The government in the Centre and the state governments must realise the fact that education is the most impactful transformative mechanism to bring about change in the mindset of young people to accept the challenge, which will open the doors of opportunities. This will be possible only when our talented teachers will encourage young minds to grapple with artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things, blockchain, machine learning, etc. Our country's resolve to become a developed nation by 2047 depends largely on our education system. The VP's suggestions to build institutions in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and rural areas will be a big transition for the country in the education sector. The governments must ensure that the students remain in the country and every region retains its talent while making them aware of the avenues in the country where they can aspire to serve the nation and themselves. The resourceful stakeholders must come forward to contribute to the education sector for the growth and development of the country.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati.

New hope?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) meet in Islamabad went on predictable lines as far as the gist of the conference was concerned, but the proceedings of the meet were eclipsed by the unexpected restraint displayed by the two "traditional adversaries," India and Pakistan. While India's representative at the SCO, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, was diplomacy personified while referring to cross-border terrorism, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif too did not lag behind: Kashmir was not mentioned by the Prime Minister, an unusual step by any Pakistan leader. The remarkable gesture of Sharif and Jaishankar was all the more surprising, as it was equally pleasant considering the acrimonious showoff between the two countries in last year's SCO at Goa and at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September.

Seen against the backdrop of Kashmir being compared to Gaza by Pakistan just a month ago, the shedding of acerbity between the two sides is most welcome. The biggest roadblock in building bridges between the two nations has always been the war of words between leaders of both sides to satisfy a few sections of their respective countries, while the general public at large is quite keen on a thaw in bilateral relations.  Of course, expecting Pakistan to stay away from terror, extremism, and cross-border terror is too far-fetched. However, there appears to be some genuine effort on the part of Islamabad to not escalate things from where they stand now.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat

(gbhat13@gmail.com)

Praying the rosary

Not many of us Catholics actually venerate or revere our Blessed Mother Mary. Families today have no time to pray the rosary. And if ever it is prayed, the Our Fathers and the Hail Marys are recited just like parrots without any meaning at all because the head of the family has just returned home from work and is tired. Besides, the wife has to prepare the dinner, and the children have to watch their favourite serial on TV. October is the month of the rosary. Praying the family rosary daily will prevent such unhappy occurrences in the home that cause sadness for both parents and children and that often end in the destruction of the matrimonial bond. The family rosary is one of the best prayers of the Catholic Church. Prayer is intended to raise the mind to God and to take our thoughts away from the passing affairs of this world. The rosary is long enough to engage our attention for a sufficient time to enable us to leave aside our worldly cares, and this is good for both the body and the soul. It can be said on a journey or even while engaged in our occupations, which do not demand all our attention. The indulgences of the rosary are so great that the faithful ought to make use of this devotion for the relief of the poor souls in purgatory. The rosary is the devotion that belongs especially to Our Lady.

Jubel D’Cruz,

jubeldcruz@yahoo.com