The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Corrections and clarifications

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Thursday, Apr 27, 2006

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Corrections and clarifications

**A reader says the sentence "Eighty years later, on Friday, that `princess' had been on the throne longer than any monarch in modern European history" is incorrect. The reference is to the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and her eightieth birthday ("Newscape", "I am touched, says Queen Elizabeth", April 22, 2006). Modern European history starts from 1600, so Louis XIV of France, who ruled for 72 years, has the longest reign, he says. U.K. Government sources clarify: "With regards to your enquiry, this depends very much on your definition of `modern European History'. However given that your enquirer states from 1600, then he is correct in stating that Louis XIV of France reigned for 72 years from 1643 to 1715. Even if you define `modern European History' as a much more recent time frame, Queen Victoria reigned for longer than the current Queen, from 1837 to 1901, a total of 64 years. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953, meaning she has been on the throne for almost 53 years."

**Where is the grandson? In the AFP report "20 years on, Chernobyl still spells disaster" ("International", April 25, 2006), a reader points that the caption of the accompanying AP photograph is wrong. It read: "Tears say it all: A man turns away to wipe his tears as he visits his three-year-old grandson in the cancer ward at a hospital in Gomel, 300 km south-west of Minsk, Belarus, in this file photo." While editing the picture, the man's grandson, on the right, was left out.

**Krishen Kak objects to a part of the review of the book "Scarred — Experiments with Violence in Gujarat: Dionne Bunsha" ("Book Review", April 25, 2006). He says: "In the review titled `Politicisation of Violence' by C.T. Kurien, the writer, with reference to Gujarat 2002, states `a thousand people' were killed and `some 150,000' rendered homeless. This is not true. On May 11, the UPA government officially stated in the Rajya Sabha that `254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed in Gujarat in the post Godhra riots' and that `a total of 223 people were reported missing, 2,548 sustained injuries, 919 were rendered widows and 606 children were orphaned during the riots'." Prof. C.T. Kurien clarifies: "The figures quoted (as also the instances cited) in my review are as mentioned in the book."

**Certain statements in two articles on the mathematician Srinivas Ramanujan (The Hindu-Magazine, April 23, 2006) are confusing to a reader. He says, "In the first article ("Squaring the circle", by Geeta Doctor, page 1) the writer says that Ramanujan wrote a 10-page letter to G.H. Hardy, and that he (Ramanujan) died at the age of 33. But in the second article ("Wasted genius", by Shashi Tharoor, page 3) the writer says the letter was nine pages and he died at the age of 32." Geeta Doctor clarifies: "Robert Kanigel, in his book `The Man who knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan', refers to a 10-page letter written to Hardy." Reference material on Ramanujan gives his age at the time of his passing away as 33 (1887-1920).

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