RTI

Published : Sep 24, 2010 00:00 IST

THE activists who have been killed can be equated with the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for Independence (Cover Story, September 10). The latest report of Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), a Hong Kong-based independent agency engaged in a crusade for good governance, has rated India as the worst country in Asia in areas such as domestic political risks, social instability risks, external political risks and systemic risks.

The unhealthy quest to achieve rapid economic progress and development has forced Indians to compromise on ethics. Only sustained efforts by the government working in tandem with activists in the fight against the menace of corruption will help create an atmosphere conducive to the implementation of RTI.

Ettirankandath Krishnadas Palakkad, Kerala

THE RTI Act should be strengthened and the activists should be protected. The nexus between corrupt politicians and bureaucrats should be broken. The new Bill to protect whistle-blowers should be made transparent to be effective. The loopholes in the Bill should be plugged. For example, words like genuine should be removed. Who is to decide what or who is genuine? It should be applicable to both public and private sectors so that it can lead to a significant reduction in corruption and scams.

Jacob Sahayam Thiruvananthapuram

SATYENDRA K. DUBEY and Manjunath Shanmugam, who were both killed for exposing the nexus between politicians, the mafia and contractors, can be said to be precursors to the RTI whistle-blowers, who, of late, have faced a series of attacks. The RTI Act is a landmark legislation. Though it may have loopholes, it has proven to be effective.

S. Murali Vellore, Tamil NaduThe Games

THE scandals brought to light in the organisation of the Commonwealth Games are shocking and disturbing (Mega scam, September 10).

The displacement of poor people, the wastage of a huge amount of taxpayers' money, and the loss of livelihoods should also concern the government.

In the midst of all this, it is the duty of Indians to save the country's prestige and not expose its weaknesses any further.

What everyone needs to do now is concentrate on the event. According to the familiar slogan Athithi devo bhava, the guests should be received, the games should be played joyfully and the guests should be sent off in good spirits. Then, all the allegations should be dealt with as an internal issue.

A.J. Rangarajan Edison, New Jersey, U.S.Oil & Iraq

THE barbarity of American imperialism is unveiled in the article Crude reality (September 10). It is the height of hypocrisy that President Barack Obama, who called the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico an assault on our shores, on our people, on the regional economy and on communities, has not accepted the U.S. folly in occupying Iraq on the pretext of finding weapons of mass destruction and killing over one million civilians.

If the U.S. truly values democracy and wants to restore peace in Iraq, it should totally withdraw its forces from Iraq as promised and leave all the oil wells controlled by its cohorts.

Syed Sultan Mohiddin Kadapa, A.P.The media

JAYATI GHOSH has expressed a bold yet balanced opinion on the present state of the media and the lack of a system that could make them accountable and responsible to society (Media accountability, September 10).

The media's deviation from the ethics and true spirit of journalism has been evident in recent times from the sensationalising of issues to the condemnable practice of paid news. For the media to play its role as the conscience-keeper of society, it should have more number of conscientious people. If a young journalist unfortunately succumbs to corporate pressure or short-term careerist temptations, these people can hold the flag of conscience up.

Sourav Adhikary Tamluk, West BengalCaste census

ONE has to appreciate the government's initiative to acquire accurate data on castes so as to uplift the lower strata of society (The caste factor, September 10). But will a caste-based census ensure that the marginalised will get their due place in society through reservation and benefits?

The so-called upper castes will continue to use the so-called lower castes for their advantage because of the religious sanction attached to the caste system. The caste problem cannot be solved only through numbers and tabulations but by taking into consideration the reality of illegal and large land accumulation, upper-caste hegemony, the caste-class nexus, brahminical hierarchy and beliefs sanctioned by religion and ideologies. In this sense of the term, the caste factor does matter in Census 2011.

Real radical change will occur only when there is a change in the attitude of those who oppress others in any form and not by making changes in the records.

Amalan Dominic New Delhi

IT is unfortunate that caste has been included as a separate category in Census 2011. Our leaders refer to a casteless society only in their speeches but do not work for it in practice. Why cannot we take pride in ourselves as Indians instead of labelling ourselves with caste identities?

How will the caste component help in our nation's development? It will divide society further as more and more groups will demand reservation in government jobs or in educational institutions on the basis of their caste identities. The government will also find it difficult to meet all the demands.

Although heated debates on this issue will continue among different groups, the bottom line is that our leaders will persist in dividing us along caste lines and thriving on the votes they get.

S. Balakrishnan Jamshedpur, JharkhandFake encounters

IT is time for the courts to take strict note of the revelations made in the Sohrabbuddin case and set a precedent in the interest of justice so that representatives of the people act responsibly and not take their power for granted (The lid is off, August 27). Perhaps India needs to remember to redeem the pledge of its tryst with destiny.

Syed Khaja New Delhi

WITHOUT doubt, there are a large number of fake encounters, but in India, there is no other alternative to such practices (Evading guidelines, August 27). You say that one should abide by the due process of law, but it is the law that is holding up the hanging of Afzal Guru.

So, it is very difficult for discerning citizens to appreciate such concern and care for alleged terrorists. An equal degree of care and support for the security forces would be appropriate. The absence of such sympathy for the security forces demoralises them.

Even today, there are people's courts in areas in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra with a strong naxalite presence where summary judgments are passed and atrocious punishments meted out to the enemies of the people.

R. Rajagopal ChennaiKashmir

THE essay Kak and Sheikh (September 10) was very interesting as it related how Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India.

Mahindar Singh New Delhi

THOUGH some 64 people died in two months, no compensation has been known to have been awarded to the innocent people affected by the disturbances (Valley on fire, August 27). An effort should be made to understand the history of misrule in Kashmir. When, why and how did stone-pelting start? What form did earlier agitations and violence take?

S.S. Almal Kolkata

IT is high time that India and Pakistan sat down to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir issue amicably in the interests of both countries. They can then divert their money for development projects instead of spending it on weapons under the guise of self-defence.

People of both countries want peace and prosperity, but their political leaders intentionally ignore this fact and give top priority to their own selfish motives.

Myajar Singh ChandigarhPDS

IN India, there are two contradictory scenes: one is starvation and other is the wastage of foodgrains (Threat to a system, August 27).

How absurd! The Food Corporation of India needs to improve its storage facilities.

Though the universalisation of the PDS is a good concept, it has some limitations. How does one distinguish between the needy and the others?

Why is the PDS going to be restricted to the 150 most disadvantaged districts? Are other districts completely prosperous? Hunger and poverty cannot be viewed in a geographical sense.

In the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, there are many people who are below the poverty line. But some slum-dwellers and rickshaw-pullers in Nagpur or Pune are also poor people who face hunger daily.

It is a pity that the government is thinking in favour of a restricted PDS while wasting precious foodgrains.

Ujwal Santoshrao Jagtap Shelgaon Deshmukh Maharashtra

Honour killings

ACCORDING to a study sponsored by the National Commission for Women, out of the 562 honour crime cases that took place in the past four years, over 83 per cent pertained to inter-caste marriages and only 3 per cent to same- gotra marriages (Bill of honour, August 27).

In other words, people are opposed to inter-caste marriages and as such the Central and State governments should come out with innovative plans to break caste barriers for marriages since punitive measures alone will not deliver the goods. The law alone cannot bring about social reforms and desired changes in social attitudes and people's behaviour.

Intra- gotra marriages lead to genetic disorders, which medical science has proved to occur on a much higher scale in communities where close-kin marriages take place. Accordingly, the Hindu Marriage Act needs to be amended in respect of those sub-communities or castes that have followed for generations together the tradition of not marrying within their gotras for valid reasons.

Prem Singh Dahiya Rohtak, HaryanaANNOUNCEMENT

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