OPINION

A wise man said

Re: "Anand urges education inequality", (BP, May 26).

At the core of failing Thai education policies is the proverb: "If you follow the old man the dogs do not bite".

Re: "ICJ ruling ignored by Israel", (World, May 26).

The contempt which Israel is displaying towards the International Court of Justice and the international community as a whole is deplorable.

It is imperative for Israel to obey that order and stop the war in Gaza. Israel is breaking international law.

The behaviour of Benjamin Netanyahu and his government is no better than that of Vladimir Putin.

Stop the atrocities in Gaza!

Re: "Former rival Haley says she will vote for Trump", (World, May 24).

US President Joe Biden is looking to hire a "meme lord", a job I am sure I could do as I already spend too much time looking at other people's memes.

Mr Biden has already been featured in a number of excellent memes unlike his main opponent Donald Trump who seems to release strange superhero images.

Perhaps the use of memes in politics could be banned as time wasting and demeaning, but I doubt it.

Re: "India's massive general election faces fiery heatwave challenge", (World, May 26).

Delhi's turn on polling day was on Saturday. Friday was marked by enforced sobriety at all bars and restaurants. Security forces were highly visible at public gatherings and metro stations.

As I travel through north India during the supercharged heat wave, Narendra Modi flamed false rumours about a Muslim takeover through highly fertile procreation and the killing of cows sacred to his Hindu constituents. Delhi's polling day witnessed Gandhi Smriti (the site of his assassination) inexplicably closed. The heavily guarded National Defence College, the brawny antithesis to satyagraha, lies across the road. Claridge's Delhi is just around the corner.

India's election could be a contest between the three prongs of Gandhian non-violence (now forgotten), the militant exertion of Hindu nationalism (currently ascendant), and coveting wealth (an eternal and universal motivation).

The Mahatma still speaks to us in the present. "Do not listen to rumour, but if you do, do not believe it", could be a warning against Mr Modi's rancid religion-based fracturing for the sake of a third term and a record majority.

"The world has enough for everyone's need but not everyone's greed," meanwhile, is a warning against widening income inequity.

"The future depends on what we do in the present," is the prelude to June 4, when the election results are announced. Let's hope that the 2024 India election doesn't boil over to fevered rancour, as my drinking water did.