MyVoice: Views of our readers 2nd April 2026

Empowering every child must be the aim

Apropos “Reform or repackaging? Need to rethink TG’s education policy” (THI April 1), one cannot miss the irony of a policy that trumpets inclusivity while privileging private schooling and English from the nursery years. Reform should mean strengthening public education, not outsourcing it to market forces. Pedagogy worldwide affirms that early learning in the mother tongue anchors comprehension and confidence.

To ignore this is to risk widening inequities and eroding cultural roots. Parents’ aspirations for English are understandable, but policy must balance ambition with equity. Telangana’s vision for excellence will ring hollow if it sidelines linguistic diversity and public schooling. True reform lies in empowering every child, not repackaging old hierarchies in new rhetoric.

K Chidanand Kumar, Bengaluru

China-Pak peace proposal is bang on

This refers to the news report “All eyes on 19 ships stranded in Hormuz” (THI, April 1). The safe passage of eight Indian-flagged vessels is a relief, but 19 ships carrying LPG, crude, and LNG still lying stranded is not a situation that can be managed through inter-ministerial briefings alone. Energy cargo of this scale has direct downstream consequences on cooking gas availability, refinery operations, and household prices. India needs a dedicated maritime liaison mechanism with Iranian port authorities for precisely these situations.

The China-Pakistan peace proposal, whatever its geopolitical motivations, at least puts safe passage formally on the table. India should pursue the same objective through its own diplomatic channels, quietly but with greater urgency than is currently visible.

K Sakunthala, Coimbatore-641016

Need to diagnose investor apathy

This refers to the editorial “Strive to ensure better results from ECMS” (THI, April 1). The government’s frustration with the electronics industry’s slow response to ECMS is understandable, but the article rightly points to a more fundamental issue — that financial support alone cannot substitute for an ecosystem. Countries like China, South Korea, and Taiwan did not build electronics dominance through subsidies alone.

They built it through decades of supplier networks, engineering talent pipelines, and institutional patience. India’s risk-averse business culture, which gravitates toward asset-light models, will not change through warnings from ministers. It will change when the total ecosystem-land availability, logistics reliability, skilled workforce and policy consistency-makes manufacturing a more attractive option. Diagnosing investor apathy honestly, rather than simply urging industry to “do more,” would be a more productive starting point.

A Myilsami, Coimbatore-641402

Strategic autonomy is a necessity

This is further to the news report “US will remember: Trump warns France, Italy” (THI, April 1). It illustrates how quickly the Iran conflict is straining relationships well beyond the immediate parties. France denying airspace, Italy distancing itself from base usage, defence sales being halted are not minor diplomatic friction points.

They reflect a genuine unease among European allies about being drawn into a war they did not sanction. US President Donald Trump’s public warnings to allied governments via social media posts are particularly counterproductive. Coercing partners rarely produces the cooperation sought, and risks accelerating the very fragmentation of Western alliances that adversaries would welcome most. For countries like India, watching this dynamic unfold, the lesson is clear — in a fractured world, strategic autonomy is not a luxury but a necessity.

S M Jeeva, Chennai-32