Letters to The Editor — February 14, 2026

The Bangladesh result

It was a fairly peaceful election, with low voter turnout, and minimal participation by the minorities. These are the main factors that characterised Bangladesh’s bid to return to parliamentary democracy.

It remains to be seen whether the Tarique Rahman-led BNP will allow the Awami League to rejoin the national mainstream to enable the return to a healthy democracy. While New Delhi might be relieved that the Jamaat-e-Islami has not captured power, it would do well to realise that the BNP and its governments have had a history of being unfriendly towards India. One of the immediate contentious issues to handle could be the extradition of deposed leader Sheikh Hasina.

Angara Venkata Girija Kumar,

Chennai

The small screen

For decades, Doordarshan (DD) was the sole provider of television in India, playing a pivotal role in promoting national integration, education, and cultural awareness (‘Open page’, February 8). One can recall that households would flock to their television sets to watch ‘Oliyum Oliyum’ (Tamil film songs programme) on DD Chennai. DD served as a good companion before cable TV in the 1990s.

R. Sivakumar,

Chennai