Letters to the Editor – December 2019
Let’s give to TRF generously
The Editor’s Note captioned Undaunted by their disability in the Nov issue is apt, for nothing can stop those who want to achieve big. Hats off to wonder women Kuhu Das, and Jeeja Ghosh, who are fighting for the rights of the disabled.
RI Directors Dr Bharat Pandya and Kamal Sanghvi have laid emphasis on TRF contributions, which will help the poor and needy.
A good formula of giving is that if you have to choose between being kind or right, choose the former to be always right. Help people to overcome their fears without condescension. It will make them and you happier than you imagine. We should contribute to TRF to the best of our capacity as it will help in a big way to fight hunger, provide healthcare and literacy.
Raj Kumar Kapoor, RC Roopnagar — RID 3080
Model project
RC Bareilly South, RID 3110, has set a good example of utilising the CSR fund through its project addressing open defecation in villages.
Rotary is a good platform for CSR activity. This model project shows the best way to utilise the CSR funds from the corporates. Congrats to the club leaders and the managing director of B L Agro Oils for executing a need-based project for society.
Chinmaya Mahapatra, RC Bhubaneswar Heritage — RID 3262
Making India literate
The article Let’s make India literate by 2025 is interesting. It will be really a gift of Rotary to the nation if we could accomplish this grand mission. For, literacy is the means to achieve various goals in society. I congratulate RIPN Shekhar Mehta for his tireless efforts.
Dr Prosenjit Ghosh, RC Green Land Silchar — RID 3240
Excellent editorial
RI President Mark Maloney asks us to raise funds for polio, and says that its eliminaion will get Rotary global acclaim. We share the same feelings of Editor Rasheeda Bhagat over the importance of education. She has rightly pointed out that there are millions of children for whom even basic literacy remains just a dream, beyond their reach.
With our literacy rate at only 74 per cent, it is debatable if we are providing quality education to our children. As an 85-year-old citizen, I have spent 20 years of my life as a Rotarian and think the Oct issue editorial is the best one penned by the Editor so far.
The cover story on RC Mysore West’s pioneering work for children with hearing loss explains in detail the efforts of the club in reaching out to these special children over the last 30 years.
S Muniandi, RC Dindigul Fort — RID 3000
I fully agree with the editorial that only education can usher in changes in various fields and make India the most powerful nation in the world. In this aspect, only Rotary can fulfill the aspirations of the poor masses in India as Rotary leaders dream of total literacy by 2025.
I request RILM’s national committee to review TEACH and add innovative ways to quickly achieve visible results. The Literacy Summits are events with statistical analysis of our success stories, but in future these summits must give scope to our leaders to take decisions for realising total literacy in our country.
Arun Kumar Dash, RC Baripada — RID 3262
I was impressed with your thoughts on education in your editorial and how a common man is hungry for knowledge that can come only with education. Our first PM Jawaharlal Nehru set great emphasis on education and that is why he set up such quality educational institutions all over India. Today education is a business and nobody cares to do anything about this.
Fortunately, in Delhi, the right thrust has been given to education for all under the leadership of the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. I suggest you do an in-depth interview with him and his deputy, Manish Sisodia, on their achievements so far and publish it in Rotary News.
Robert Franklin Rego, RC Bajpe — RID 3181
Correction
It was inadvertently reported in the article, Mehta’s dream, Nobel Prize (Nov’19) that PDG Vinay Kulkarni has contributed ₹50,000 to the Polio Fund. He has donated ₹500,000 for RILM.
The error is regretted.
Excellent cover story, nice articles
The cover story on RIPN Shekhar Mehta made excellent reading. Also, the cover photo and other pages are very impressive. Your editorial rightly highlights the grave problem faced by disabled persons in our society.
In all, the November issue has excellent reading material. Congratulations for raising the standard of Rotary News with excellent teamwork under your editorship.
R K Bubna, RC Belur — RID 3291
I am happy to note that Rotary News has transformed a great deal with interesting content to read, a better layout and design in recent years. The Nov issue has articles that throw light on Rotary’s areas of focus and its objective of reaching out to the community with great service projects. The concept that the current RI President should not be in Evanston, the RI headquarters, when the selection committee meets to select RI’s new leader is noteworthy. The elaborate interview of RIPN Shekhar Mehta, his views and plans for Rotary, only point to his qualities as a great Rotary leader. Trustee Chair Gary Huang’s message, the article Lifestyle Medicine and other articles are interesting to read and enjoy.
R Thayumanavan, RC Cuddalore Midtown — RID 2981
Kudos to Rotary News for publishing some innovative projects taken up by Rotary clubs, an eye-opener for Rotarians. One is the Dinner in the Dark project of RC Chandigarh Shivalik, RID 3080, which aims to sensitise Rotarians and the larger community about the difficulties faced by the visually-impaired. Hats off to the club.
We conducted a similar programme at a local college recently. It was a different type of concert presented by pianist Anil Srinivasan and his orchestra; the audience was seated in a packed auditorium in utter darkness for an hour to feel the world of visually-challenged people, experiencing classical songs. The project raised funds for a home in Chennai for 60 visually-impaired girl inmates. It made us think about the lives of those in darkness. Many of our clubs can implement such projects to help the less-privileged people.
R Srinivasan, RC Madurai, Midtown — RID 3000
We are inspired by the cover story of our leader RIPN Shekhar Mehta (Nov’19) as it details his journey in Rotary and his future plans. His vision is clear — he wants Rotarians to think and act big. We agree that Rotary should get a Noble Prize. Thanks a lot for the nicely-packaged issue.
Swathi Singh and Ranjit Singh Thakur, RC Gems Nizamabad — RID 3150
Warmest congratulations to PRID Shekhar Mehta for getting selected as RI President (2021–22). Special appreciation to Rasheeda Bhagat for the excellent cover photo, a well-written editorial titled Undaunted by their disability and the Trustee Chair inspecting service projects in RID 3201. Keep it up.
Daniel Chittilappilly, RC Kalloor — RID 3201
I have come across two extraordinary people who are good leaders and dream big. One, our PM Narendra Modi, two our RIPN Shekhar Mehta.
November issue is really a collector’s item. The coverage of RIPN is amazing, focusing on his thoughts, work, career, challenges, beliefs and ideas. Mehta has rightly said India is the Kohinoor in Rotary’s crown and his vision of getting Nobel Peace Prize for RI is really laudable.
A few weeks back, I met him at the Bhowanipur Jain temple. After the aarti he interacted with the local people, unrestrained by their caste or creed, following the Rotary ideology of not paying attention to one’s religion or region. If you are a Rotarian, you are welcome has been our credo as highlighted by Rasheeda Bhagat in her article.
Piyush Doshi, RC Belur — RID 3291
