Twelfth Plan

THE Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five-Year Plan is yet another illustration of the obsession of our economic think tanks' faulty economic policies (Cover Story, Neoliberal Plan, October 21). This shows that the consultative process with civil society was a farce. The Approach Paper is designed to placate global moneylenders like the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank and reiterate the government's commitment to neoliberalism. No doubt, the Approach Paper will aid concentration of wealth among India's super-rich.

E. Krishnadas Palakkad, KeralaMaruti strike

THE recent strike by the workers at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant proves that a labour crisis was inevitable in the industry (Fighting for dignity, October 21).

Though the Union Labour Ministry's provisional data show that the number of strikes and lockouts had fallen from 349 in 2009 to 99 in 2010, the truth is that grievances of workers both in the organised and unorganised sectors are not being addressed properly. The lack of pay parity and permanent status for contract workers are the main reasons behind the Manesar strike.

Banning strikes is no way out. The management of the company should understand that the absence of proper platforms for workers to express their concerns will prompt them to strike work. Proper perks and salaries in proportion to the work done will encourage employees to work hard.

P. Senthil Saravana Durai Vazhavallan Tamil Nadu

9/11

THE United States has ostensibly taken up the cause of exterminating terrorism from the face of the world (Cover Story, War of Terror, October 7). The complicity of the U.S. and the U.K. the current torchbearers of peace in the making of modern terrorism cannot be denied. Until the superpowers realise that they cannot weed out something that they sowed, a terror-free world will remain a myth.

Anurag Singh Lucknow

THIS is with reference to the Cover Story articles War of terror and Go massive, go bust. The articles implied that the U.S. went broke because of its war on terror. The U.S.' economic woes and its terror-related woes are two different things. The cause of its terror woes is its policy error in promoting terrorism for selfish gains. Osama bin Laden was once a friend of the U.S. During this time, the U.S. was Pakistan's friend as well and chose to turn a blind eye to the many terrorist attacks India faced from terror groups supported by Pakistan. Only when the U.S.' wrong policy came back to haunt it through 9/11 did it choose to come back on the right path. It is only after 9/11 that the U.S. is supporting India in its war against terror and has come out openly against Pakistan for supporting terror.

K. Stephen Daniel Secunderabad

THE U.S. needs to be congratulated for not lowering its vigil and ensuring some form of justice for the victims of 9/11. What needs to be changed, though, is how the West regards the Muslim community. It must be reiterated that Islam is a peaceful religion.

Syed Khaja New DelhiThe judiciary

THE resignation of Justices Soumitra Sen and P.D. Dinakaran to escape impeachment sets a bad precedent (Dodging scrutiny, October 7). The wrongs committed by them cannot be undone by resignations.

N. R. Ramachandran ChennaiScams

THANKS to men like Gali Janardhana Reddy, politicians are a despised lot today (Mine of scams, October 7). Now that action has finally been initiated against him and others, one hopes that it will be taken to its logical conclusion without fear or favour. The allegations of their long ties with top BJP leaders should be looked into objectively.

K.S. Jayatheertha BangaloreTeesta treaty

CHIEF Minister Mamata Banerjee's eleventh hour refusal to accompany the Prime Minister to Bangladesh was undoubtedly embarrassing for the country (Sinking a deal, October 7). However, Mamata Banerjee's concerns over the sharing of the Teesta's waters deserve consideration as many poor peasants of northern Bengal depend solely on it for agricultural purposes. As the Chief Minister, it is her duty to safeguard the interests of her State. The issue has been pending for a long time and must be resolved through consensus and not in a hurried way.

Jayant Mukherjee KolkataCORRECTION

The first sentence in the Cover Story (October 7) War on Terror should read: September 11 marked the tenth anniversary of the devastating terror attacks on the American mainland that dramatically changed the course of contemporary history and politics.

In the article Nawab of cricket (October 21), it was wrongly mentioned that Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, father of M.A.K. Pataudi, was a hockey Olympian. According to the noted statistician B.G. Joshi, Iftikhar (1917-1952) was in the Indian team of 16 players for the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928 but did not travel. He later led a British-Indian hockey team's tour of Germany in December 1930.

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