Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Worth emulating?

The article “Cockroaches abandon their better instinct” (Nov. 17) makes a mention of the unique egalitarian system in cockroach societies. The fact that there is no social stratification as in some other insect societies caught my attention. On reading what Jose Halloy said about roach societies — that they are simple, egalitarian and democratic — I could not help thinking how much the description about these otherwise squalid creatures tells us.

We in India, who are struggling to overcome social stratification (in the form of the deep-rooted caste system), have a lot to learn from these lowly-rated, abominable insects that invite disgust from one and all. We stand much higher in the ecological hierarchy but we are no match for them in such a basic principle of living. Cockroaches are living in a self-made heaven but where are we?

Deepti Mehrotra,

New Delhi

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Temporising with the dictator
A pioneering effort on HIV
NREGA: Dismantling the contractor raj
Wooing India, Welsh style out of Cardiff
Climate swings shaped human evolution: researchers
OPEC and climate change
Corrections and clarifications
Karnataka affairs
Congress dreams
Students’ behaviour
Worth emulating?
“Switzerland is not just cheese and chocolates but hi-tech too”

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu