Letters to The Editor — October 15, 2026

Grand goals, ground reality

On completing 25 years in power, the Prime Minister has set ambitious goals: making India one of the world’s three largest economies, venturing into space, achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat, turning India into a global manufacturing hub and hosting the Olympics. The new slogan is “We can do it”. We certainly can. But these goals do little to address the immediate concerns of ordinary citizens. While economic growth has created billionaires and numerous multimillionaires, it has failed to ease the common man’s daily struggles. With space opening up to private players, public resources could further enrich them, while the common man will have to be content watching rockets being launched. Atmanirbhar Bharat remains an aspiration, with India still dependent on China for critical imports. The ambition to become a global manufacturing hub is welcome, but industrial growth has yet to generate adequate employment or move decisively beyond assembly to domestic production. Hosting the Olympics, too, seems misplaced when millions struggle to access basic necessities. A leader’s greatness should be measured not merely by years in office or grand ambitions, but by how many people are freed from material hardship.

A.G. Rajmohan,

Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh

Protest grounds

It is a calculated move to say citizens may protest anywhere, as long as nobody in power will hear them. Jantar Mantar mattered because it sat near Parliament, and its replacements are four, 13 and 15 kilometres away (October 13). Distance alone might be defended, but the details are worse. Ramlila Maidan, the nearest, reportedly has just three dates, all in the last week of December, with an initial booking cost of over ₹1.21 lakh. Jantar Mantar had no comparable fee. A right to protest that must be booked months ahead and paid for in lakhs is a right for the well-funded, not the aggrieved. Students, farmers and workers protest because they have little, and they cannot buy their way to a hearing. Call it an order on venues if you like. In effect, it prices dissent out of the capital, then points to the fine print to say nothing was banned.

Yashvi Patel,

Anand, Gujarat

The gaps in health care

Modern medicine increasingly suffers from a “tunnel vision” approach. Each specialist focuses narrowly on their domain, rarely considering the patient’s broader health profile or existing medications. When questions are raised, the standard response is: “Please check with your cardiologist, diabetologist…” The result is fragmented care, where prescriptions are issued in isolation. Older patients, who typically live with multiple chronic conditions, are especially vulnerable. They consult several clinicians — generalists, specialists, and super‑specialists — who seldom communicate with one another. This leads to overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and the well accepted adverse drug reactions. The family physician, once the trusted anchor who knew the patient’s history and coordinated care, is sadly disappearing.

Equally troubling is the growing reliance on lab reports, with doctors rarely examining patients directly. In India, the shortage of trained geriatric specialists compounds the problem, leaving senior citizens to navigate a maze of medical advice. What is urgently needed is a revival of holistic, patient‑centered care. Strengthening primary health care, expanding geriatric medicine, and fostering communication among specialists can restore trust and safety. Without such reforms, the elderly will continue to bear the brunt of a fragmented system.

H.N. Ramakrishna,

Bengaluru