News views.

1. An Unclear Agenda.

    Starting today, 30 elected student leaders of government arts and science colleges from across

    Kerala will attend a 5-day crash course in leadership skills at Cardiff University in the United

    Kingdom. Another batch of 29 student leaders will take the course from 23 to 27 Mar. The

    questions that arise are :-

         (a) Why are all of them only from the communist student wing, the SFI?

         (b) The government has been talking about a severe financial crunch. So, is this jaunt justified?

         (c) There are so many efficient and reputed institutions within the country that could have been

               tapped for the purpose. Is it, therefore, a jaunt that has been organised?

2. Are the Gir Lions Losing Their Killer Instincts?

     Assured food in visitor zones erode predatory skills, says a study of the Wildlife Institute of India

     on the lions of the Gir forest in Gujarat. Three incidents have been cited:-

         (a) In Jul '18, a video of a lion eating a chicken had gone viral.

         (b) In Jun '19, a video captured a lion being chased away with only a stick by the village

               sarpanch of Mota Barman village in Amreli.

         (c) In June last year, in Amreli, a shepherd was saved by a barking dog from three lions. The

               lions were apparently scared by the sight of a crowd of people that had gathered due to

               incessant barking.

      In the tourism zone, the lions get assured food through provisioning. Secondly, the Maldharis -

      a community of tribal herdsmen dump dead cattle outside their homes to prevent lion attacks.

      Thirdly, the carcasses are used by the forest officials, too, to attract lions.

      Consequently, the lions are turning into scavengers with a blunted predatory instinct! Aren't we
      spoiling them?

3. US - Taliban Deal Hits First Snag.

     Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani has said that he will not free thousands of Taliban

     prisoners ahead of the all-power-sharing talks set for next week, publicly disagreeing with a

     time table for a speedy prisoner release.

     Can the Taliban be taken seriously, ever? Reminds me of the LTTE and the Indo-Sri Lankan
     Accord of '87! 

Tailpiece.

We got up half an hour late because of the late night. Lekha had gone to the Mammiyur Shiva kshetram by about 0930 hrs. A quiet day!