The discovery of a site of parietal art in the Nilgiris is not really surprising ("Rock galleries", June 29). Capt. Congreve made the first published reference to such sites in the Nilgiris in the year 1847. Of the few sites documented so far (with the exception of Karikkiyur), a couple of sites have been traced back to neolithic times (Noble, 1989 and Zagarell, 1997). The lower face of another site is said to be painted in chalcolithic style; the upper section of the same site is said to be representative of mesolithic style (Neumayer,1982), although not necessarily of mesolithic date (Zagarell, 1997). Hence a greater antiquity (perhaps not less than 6,000 years) is to be alluded to these sites (also probably to those that are yet to be found). These and similar rock-art shelters have no linguistic or political boundaries. They extend from Ancode (Thiruvananthapuram) to Central Himalayas along a great line of hill-ranges (including the Nilgiris) and their outcrops. Their contribution to our understanding of proto-historic and pre-literate civilisations in our country is significant.
Rev. Philip Mulley Coonoor, Tamil Nadu1857The Cover Story on the First War of Independence (June 29) sucessfully revived the patriotic passions of the reader. The commemoration of 1857 has given a sense of continuity in history. Despite the presence of several forces of disintegration such as communalism, regionalism and casteism, India stands tall as a shining example of the concept of unity in diversity.
Sipra Sagarika Cuttack, OrissaThe Cover Story highlights the untold sufferings of Indian soldiers in the First War of Independence. It was indeed an unprecedented revolt against an alien authority in the subcontinent. Indian citizens from all classes can be proud of their forefathers' role in the making of the nation.
Muhammed Junaid Kozhikode, KeralaIt was a truly historic Cover Story. Although many of us have read about the revolt few have understood its implications for the freedom struggle. The 150th anniversary of the revolt is being celebrated with fervour so that we remember our great heroes in the fight against colonialism.
The best part of 1857 was the absence of communal feelings among Hindu and Muslim soldiers.
Akhil Kumar DelhiThe story of the revolt could have been more interesting with an account of the emergence of Special Economic Zones within the subcontinent, a territory where government control is negligible. It is not neocolonialism; a more apt word would have been neoliberalism.
C.K. Raju Thrissur, KeralaTemple entryWhile reading the article "No to non-Hindus" (June 29) I remembered an incident that took place in 1957. Acharya Vinoba Bhave who was then on a padayatra in Kerala refused to enter the Guruvayur temple because non-Hindus were not allowed to enter Hindu temples. He reportedly told the manager of the Guruvayur Devaswom Board that he would not want to enter temples where non-Hindus were not allowed. He went on to say that no expansion was possible in the religion if it did not keep its doors open to all.
A. Ibrahim N.Parur, KeralaProblem arises only if non-Hindus demand the right to enter Hindu temples. Here the problem, as understood by a majority in the State, is discrimination against a section of Hindus. It is perceived as a form of untouchability. The Devaswom Board has apologised to Ravi Krishna. So it may not be wrong if the government takes action to ensure that such things do not recur.
A. Jacob Sahayam ThiruvananthapuramFoeticideGita Aravamudan's Disappearing Daughters: The Tragedy of Female Foeticide ("Wombs as graves": Book Review, June 29) brings to one's mind the concerns expressed by the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who called the victims "the missing daughters." One striking feature is that the daughters who go missing are usually from land-owning communities.
A recent story in your magazine lamented about girls from one southern State of India being given in marriage to menfolk of a northern State. One only hopes that better sense prevails before polyandry becomes a feature of social life.
N. Krishnamurthy New DelhiUPSCThis refers to the feature on the Civil Service examinations ("Quest for excellence", June 15). As one who had passed through the UPSC mill and who also had the opportunity to interview the finalists, I wish to defend the UPSC's reluctance to disclose the cut-off marks for students or the scaling formula it adopts to bring parity among subjects. The writer rightly commends the Commission's track record of fairness and it is exactly that reputation which will be at stake if it discloses the cut-off marks and the scaling formula.
The UPSC rightly apprehends misuse of this information by the coaching institutes, thereby harming the interest of meritorious candidates. Persona is something intrinsic to each candidate and the UPSC has done a reasonably good job of evaluating it over the decades. It will be of interest to find out the selection process in countries like the United Kingdom , Australia and Canada and compare notes on this issue.
As to the question of accountability of the public money given to it, the UPSC accounts are audited by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.
My defence does not imply that UPSC is a sacred cow and it should certainly take criticisms in the right spirit and remove deficits in its working.
S. Soundararajan Chennai.CORRECTIONIn the Cover Story lead article by Barun De "The Call of 1857" (June 29) 'Illusion of Imperial Permanence' is not a book by G.A. Henty nor is 'The Chronicles of the Crises of British Authority' a book by John Masters. These were part of Barun De's text and were erroneously italicised. Also, the word ishtihar (proclamation) was wrongly printed as ishiahar.
The number of visitors who visited Madhya Pradesh in 2006-07 was one crore and not as mentioned in the feature on the State's tourism sector ("Heart of India", June 29).
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