Though the Economic Survey celebrates three years of "high growth" and repeats the rhetoric of "inclusive" growth, the distribution of income is still skewed and opportunities are not equal.
Alex M. Thomas Kollam, KeralaPoliticsTHE electoral reverses suffered by the Congress in Punjab and Uttarakhand, and the concomitant victories of the Bharatiya Janata Party, were not on account of people's new-found love for the BJP ("Mid-term worries", March 23).
The anti-incumbency factor led to the electoral reverses.
A.R. Mahendra HyderabadBudget 2007THE United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's deviation from the National Common Minimum Programme, especially in the areas of education, health and employment generation, has once again proved that governments and politicians do not care for the common man and are happy to leave him at the mercy of greedy, private players (Editorial: "Little to cheer about"; March 23). The quality of education offered by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan is not up to the mark and is still beyond the reach of millions of children. The dropout rate is especially high among children of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, particularly girls. Primary schools and primary health centres in the villages need basic infrastructure to serve the millions who have not experienced the positive effects of the high growth rate of the economy.
Akhil Kumar New DelhiNOBODY expected miracles from the Finance Minister, but he should have presented a people-friendly Budget. The prices of essential commodities are rising every day.
The government should understand that the people are not interested in jargon such as economic growth, GDP, fiscal deficit, and so on. All they want is that their daily lives should run smoothly. This Budget has not satisfied anyone, least of all the tax-paying salaried class.
S. Balakrishnan JamshedpurChina's roleAUSTRALIA understands that it must coexist peacefully with China for the sake of stability in East Asia ("China syndrome", March 23). Even as it draws closer to the U.S., Australia has no choice but to take note of Beijing's military build-up notwithstanding the latter's stated policy of "peaceful rise". Without China's help, the U.S. cannot tackle the nuclear ambitions of North Korea. China has been credited with the successful completion of a six-nation nuclear accord with North Korea. Now is the time for the U.S. to reorient its foreign policy towards East Asia by building up a strong coalition with Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Thomas Edmunds ChennaiSri LankaTHE article "No end in sight" (February 23) points to the violations of human rights by the Sri Lankan state as well as the rebels. Caught in the crossfire are lakhs of innocent citizens. More than 70,000 people have already died or are missing in the island since the armed struggle began in 1983. The conflict has inflicted a cost of 2-3 per cent per annum on the economy . It is no one's case to justify the violence unleashed by the LTTE. However, no Sri Lankan national leader had the political will to find a viable political answer to the Tamils' genuine demands for political and social parity.
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