Assam

The sorrow-filled face of an Assamese child on the cover was touching (Cover Story, August 24). What happened in Assam was one of the worst humanitarian tragedies of modern India. The plight of the common people in India continues to be the same, though freedom was achieved some six decades ago. How can we tolerate assault on women and children?

It directly points to the absence of an effective administration in the State and at the Centre. The government should have the courage to act tough with radical groups.

Ramachandran Nair Oman

The violence in Assam underlines the hard truth that creation of the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District is not a panacea for development and permanent peace in the region. Instead of viewing the incident as a pure ethnic conflict between the Bodo and Muslim communities, the government should evolve a mechanism to identify illegal migrants and refugees from across the border and take up the matter with Bangladesh. Bilateral talks should be held on the issue of resettlement of illegal migrants languishing in Assam and the rest of the country.

Ettirankandath Krishnadas Palakkad, KeralaMaruti's troubles

After the globalisation of the Indian economy, workers rights and job security are on the decline (Out of Gear and For a just deal, August 24). It is also a fact that industrial relations at the automobile factories with Japanese collaboration have been very poor. This has resulted in large-scale protests by workers and brutal police action. The conventions evolved by the International Labour Organisation and Indian laws regarding recognition of trade unions are not followed by many multinational companies operating in India.

G. Anuplal BangaloreSocial evils

The story of Jayamma and her 20-day-old baby is shocking (Unclean and outcast, August 24). It is unfortunate that in a State like Karanataka, which has made a name for itself as a software hub, such beliefs are still prevalent. It is unpardonable that the local authorities have done little in educating the population, especially the youth, to uproot this social evil.

MohamedD Muddasir Vijayawada, A.P.Privatising water

The Khandwa water supply model is not the first public-private partnership model in India but it is the first in Madhya Pradesh (Tapping profit, August 24). There are many projects that sell the myth of 24x7 piped supply. Similar schemes in Latur, Nagpur and elsewhere have failed to deliver. There is no need for such expensive models in our country.

Makarand Purohit Badwani, M.P.Power failure

The recent collapse of three power grids in northern India reveals the state of affairs in the power sector (Power and pitfalls, August 24). India is facing an acute power crisis. Demand is continuously rising, but supply is hampered by distribution loss and poor management.

This problem is likely to increase because setting up new projects will not be easy owing to problems in land acquisition, environmental clearances and the soaring price of crude petroleum in international markets.

Ritesh Ranjan Ranchi, JharkhandGore Vidal

For years I was looking for a common name for the two major right-wing parties of the U.S. I have got the answer now: There is only one party in the U.S., the property party and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. The essay on Gore Vidal was inspiring (An American original, August 24). In our country also there appears to be only one party with multiple right wings. All practise nepotism, corruption and crony capitalism. We need a Gore Vidal to deride our polity.

Araveeti Rama Yogaiah HyderabadLakshmi Sahgal

The death of Lakshmi Sahgal, one of the founder members of AIDWA and a follower of Netaji during the Second World War, has created a void in the Left movement in the country and it is the end of an era (Communist captain, August 24). Although she was born in a privileged family, she chose to serve the marginalised people of all hues in and around Kanpur until her death at the age of 97.

N.C. Sreedharan Kannur, KeralaAnnouncement

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