Letters to The Editor — February 6, 2025

Deportation begins

It is clear that U.S. President Donald Trump means business when it comes to the subject of immigration (Page 1, “U.S. deports Indians as Trump tightens immigration rules”, February 5). The ‘bromance’ that India’s leader has tried to portray with the American President and his use of other terms of familiarity such as ‘Trump, my dear friend’ have made no difference. The choice of using an American military plane has been explicable in terms of Mr. Trump’s description of “undocumented immigrants” as “aliens”, “criminals” and “invaders”. The deportation of Indians should strengthen our resolve to make India a land of opportunity.

G. David Milton,

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

It is surprising to know that there are thousands of illegal and undocumented Indian migrants in the U.S. The Government of India needs to ponder over why so many Indians are taking enormous risks to migrate to the U.S. Primarily, it is an issue about mounting unemployment. Our economy has been portrayed as experiencing sustained and fast growth, but employment generation has not been commensurate with this ‘economic growth’.

Kosaraju Chandramouli,

Hyderabad

The use of U.S. military aircraft is probably aimed at demonstrating Mr. Trump’s muscular image. India has allowed itself to be bracketed with countries such as Guatemala, Peru, Honduras and Ecuador without demur. What happened to India’s much touted ‘national pride’ under a new virile dispensation?

Manohar Alembath,

Kannur, Kerala

In the midst of this, imagine if millions of skilled Indian migrants, pivotal to the U.S. economy, chose to remigrate to India. This “brain (re)gain” would result in a transformative leap for India. Armed with global expertise in technology, health care, and finance, these professionals could supercharge India’s growth fuelling innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation. Their return would boost sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, biotech, and sustainable energy.

Gopalaswamy J.,

Chennai

Interestingly, there are media reports that there are an estimated 7,25,000 illegal Indian immigrants in the U.S. It is also said that most are from the northern Indian States, including Gujarat. But the big question is why is there this desperation to leave India?

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,

Faridabad, Haryana

It is true that America has been considered a land of immigrants for years. But things have changed and there is a gradual vanishing of that vision. Issues of land, jobs and everyday requirements have become matters of grave concern necessitating a dampening of migration and asylum processes. The world is politically and administratively divided into large and definite numbers of individual states, with each nation bound to take care of its citizens. Moving to other countries without legal procedures naturally attracts public opposition.

P.R.V. Raja,

Pandalam, Kerala

The optics

At a time when a large number of relatives are at the Kumbh looking for their loved ones, the move by the top leader of the land to have a holy dip there is insensitive. It is needless to say that the leader has sent out a not-so-subtle political message of his continuing strategy to consolidate the vote base that backs his party. Such a mix of politics and religion to influence voters’ preference is anathema to our constitutional values.

S.K. Choudhury,

Bengaluru

Nursing, dress allowance

I write this letter as the State President (Jammu and Kashmir) of the All India Registered Nurses Federation (AIRNF). The AIRNF has been working towards the welfare of nursing personnel across India. Recently, the AIRNF has highlighted the issue of the ‘non-sanctioning of nursing and dress allowance to nursing personnel’ in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The AIRNF has been requesting the government to grant the nursing and dress allowance to nursing personnel in J&K, citing the example of the Union Territory of Ladakh, where such allowances have already been sanctioned. The Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, Union Territory of Ladakh, has issued orders No.300-H&ME(UTL) of 2021 and No.301-H&ME(UTL) of 2021, sanctioning the payment of nursing allowance and dress allowance to nursing personnel in Ladakh.

Nursing personnel in J&K demand equal treatment.

Vishav Mohan Sharma,

Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir

Chennai and safety

The incidents of women and girls being assaulted and molested in Chennai make one wonder whether the reputation of Chennai being a haven of peace, and earning an indubitable name for safety, where women can commute without any lurking fear, is under threat. When the political opposition was harping on the subject of safety, one was led to believe that it was attacking the DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu out of animus. But the problem does seem serious.

Mani Nataraajan,

Chennai

The other chess star

Indian chess prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa’s title win against compatriot and world champion D. Gukesh in the Tata Steel Masters tournament 2025 signals India’s ascending trajectory in global chess. It is a fine example to show that age is not a barrier to excellence.

R. Sivakumar,

Chennai