Letters to The Editor — July 15, 2026

Fair hearings

The Supreme Court’s ruling that citizenship determination cannot be mechanical or one-sided is a necessary reaffirmation of constitutional principles, because being declared a foreigner carries grave consequences that demand a procedure genuinely fair, not merely dressed in statutory form. However, the deeper issue remains. Foreigners’ tribunals across the northeast are overburdened, under-resourced, and often lack legal expertise, making fair hearings more an aspiration than a routine. Without systemic reform, mechanical decisions will recur regardless of judicial reminders. The Court has spoken, but the executive must now ensure that tribunals have the capacity, training, and independence to deliver reasoned justice.

K. Chidanand Kumar,

Bengaluru

S. Janaki

S. Janaki was also hailed as the ‘Queen of Expressions’. Her improvisations, vocables, and variations in the course of singing were unmatched. Her hit songs were numerous and the fact is that the Ilaiyaraaja-Janaki dyad ensured musical magic. She dominated the female singer slot, maintaining the numero uno position for decades.

R. Sampath,

Chennai

I was scrolling through Instagram when I came across a song with an Afrobeat. At first I thought it was another remix. Then I found the original. Suddenly I understood why people spoke about this voice with such reverence. The melody felt timeless, and the voice carried an emotion that no beat could replace. A song recorded decades ago had found its way into my headphones — a song that a new generation has given a different rhythm. Sometimes the newest discoveries are the oldest songs — S. Janaki and her Kiliye Kiliye from the Malayalam film Aa Raathri (1983).

Karthik Menon,

Kozhikode, Kerala