THE nuclear deal with the United States will pave the way for advanced nuclear cooperation between India and the nuclear powers (Cover Story, August 24). But both the sides must sort out contentious issues, such as enrichment, reprocessing and heavy water production technologies, to inspire confidence in the deal. Also, the countrys foreign policy must not be put under external pressure.
Akhil Kumar New Delhi* * *THE deal shows that a selected and nominated Prime Minister can pay scant attention to the opinions of Parliament in dealing with international obligations. The new deal accepts the test ban in the name of a self-imposed moratorium.
A.S. Raj Bangalore* * *THE deal proves that India has now taken the path of development and prosperity. The Left and the Opposition are criticising the deal without ascertaining its usefulness.
Brij Bhushan Vyas Lucknow* * *PRAKASH Karat is not an elected leader and therefore cannot debate the pros and cons of the nuclear deal in Parliament.
It would have made more sense to have insisted on a proper debate in the two Houses of Parliament.
J. Akshay Secunderabad* * *THE deal has fallen short of assurances made by the Prime Minister. Although there is a provision for consent for reprocessing the spent fuel, there seems to be no explicit guarantee that the U.S. will not impose any constraints or exhort India to conform its reprocessing programme to its own directions. The concerns expressed by Indian scientists have been virtually overlooked.
B. Jayanna Krupakar Mangalore KarnatakaMuligonda firingINCIDENTS such as the Muligonda firing show that political parties change once they are in power (Under fire, August 24). The Congress government is continuing with the policies of its predecessor. Such mistakes are weapons in the hands of extremists who do not believe in constitutional politics. What we need is a compassionate administration.
The agitation leaders should learn from the Mahatmas pressure, release and pressure tactics build up pressure but call off an agitation when it turns violent, as he did in Chauri Chaura.
Sambi Reddy Enreddy Hyderabad* * *ANDHRA Pradesh may have a poor record in land reforms, but in the context of rapid urbanisation and globalisation, land reforms alone cannot reduce poverty and create equal opportunities. If the Left is serious about its ideology, it should focus on social evils such as corruption and the political opportunism of its allies. Fifty years ago such land struggles had a social impact. Today, we need to focus on better health care and higher education.
Suresh Nandigam Hanuman Junction Andhra Pradesh
* * *THE article on the Muligonda firing shows how development policies neglect the poor. It is deplorable that land is taken away from its rightful owners in the name of bringing prosperity to the region.
Marisha Fonseca MumbaiSanjay DuttTHE sentencing of actor Sanjay Dutt in the Mumbai blasts case has shown that no one is above the law, and has reaffirmed the common mans faith in the judiciary (Due process, August 24). Only a handful of movie-goers and people in Bollywood are disappointed by the verdict. Those who are sympathetic to Dutt should remember that each of those convicted in the case has a family that loves him dearly. Dutt himself behaved in a responsible way over the last 12 years.
S. Balakrishnan JamshedpurIngmar BergmanPARTHA Chatterjees Bergmans world was probably one of the finest obituaries I have read recently (August 24). With the demise of the poet with the camera, the world lost one of the greatest directors in motion picture history.
Bidyut K. Chatterjee Faridabad, Haryana* * *Munnar driveTHE demolition drive initiated by Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan was a populist drama; and as all populist dramas fail, this failed, too (Challenging task, July 27). Achuthanandan has been using such tactics ever since the CPI(M)s State conference in Malappuram four years ago, where he tried to gain majority for his group in the partys State Committee. The media gave him publicity and he became the most popular Leader of Opposition in Keralas history.
K.M. Rabia ThiruvananthapuramPunjab conflictTHE article Faith and conflict rightly pointed out that deras are as much a part of the norm as they are a challenge to spiritual hegemony in Punjab (July 27). There is no real clash between deras and gurdwaras so far as religion is concerned.
The clash between the two has political roots. In the 1970s and 1980s, a clash between Nitankaris and Sikhs was the cause of militancy in Punjab. The Centre and the State governments should resolve the current situation before it goes out of control.
Madhu Aggarwal AmritsarBook reviewIN the review The Rights Wrong, A.G. Noorani says that the BJP government in 1996 lasted a mere 11 days. This is not correct. The government, which lasted just 13 days, used to be humorously referred to as a 13-day wonder.
A.K. Dasgupta HyderabadRetail invasionThe retail revolution seems to have taken place in the minds of consumers (Retail invasion, July 13). Air-conditioned shopping areas used to be thought of as the arena of plastic money holders. Now, these spaces are wooing a cross-section of buyers with the bait of low-priced fruits and vegetables. The approaches adopted by business houses differ. The initial entrants in the field, such as Spencers, had the advantage of monopoly in a particular region. Subsequent entrants such as Shoppers Stop and Pantaloons capitalised on tastes for fashion, lifestyle products and convenience shopping. The latest entrants such as Godrej Fresh, Spinach and Reliance are offering vegetables and fruits at low prices.
Organised retailers who have now entered the market are interested in maximising their returns on investments by marketing their own private labels of staples. Clearly, this is a win-win situation for both customers and organised retailers. It would be prudent for the latter not to upset the apple cart of fruit and vegetable wholesalers.
Ashok Ray Chaudhury MumbaiVidarbha suicidesSince I greatly admire the objectivity of your esteemed magazine, it was extremely shocking to see that some of your correspondents own conclusions have been attributed to me in the article Mirage in Vidarbha (August 10, 2007).
The quote why is..agrarian distress is presented in such a way as to give the impression that as an officer I have been against the special package. On the contrary, with great zeal and enthusiasm, I have been instrumental in implementing nearly 50 per cent of the three-year package in the very first year.
To bring home the point that the suicides are a symptom of a much deeper distress, it was clearly mentioned to the correspondent that in addition to a package of Rs.16,000 crore for four States announced in 2006, there is now a package of Rs.25,000 crore announced by the Government of India for all the States to deal with the present agrarian crisis. This does not find any mention in the article.
The quote The mainagriculture? includes a demand for higher support prices, which is routinely put up by the States to the Commission on Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP). While this demand has been attributed to me, I, in fact, vehemently opposed it on the grounds that Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) could bring the cost of cultivation lower than the prevailing market prices. The sentence Of course, get it is totally misquoted. While the criterion for attributing a suicide to agrarian distress finds a place in the quote, the conclusion that alcoholism, daughters wedding expenses, family tensions and excessive health expenses are linked to agrarian crises is drawn by your correspondent.
The quote By denyingmechanism is again loaded with your correspondents own conclusion. I never said that debts are caused by denial of fair prices. On the contrary, I mentioned clearly that the phenomenon is due to the adoption of the high-cost Green Revolution formula in risk prone rain-fed areas. The very fact that I am quoted as describing the practice as a gamble with borrowed money without any coping mechanism shows that I do not see agricultural debt as caused by denial of a fair price.
While I largely disagree with most of the conclusions drawn by your correspondent in the article, I fully respect the freedom of media to draw its own conclusions based on real facts. What I am objecting to is attributing those conclusions to a well-meaning officer of the State government trying to reform the system from within.
Dionne Bunsha writes:The quotations in the story are based on a lengthy interview with Dr. Goel during my visit to Vidarbha. I have extensive notes on the conversations and he has been quoted accurately in the proper context. In fact, Dr. Goels insights were integral to my understanding of the situation in Vidarbha.
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