Higher education
THE Cover Story (August17) scrutinised the government’s proposal to form a Higher Education Commission of India to replace the University Grants Commission. The Centre must fix the problems in the present systems and procedures of the UGC on the basis of inputs from educationists and administrators and with the aim of meeting the aspirations of ordinary people. Education has already reached a new low in the face of problems ranging from academic curricula to student admissions to fee structure and employability. Instead of taking corrective measures, the Centre wants to disband the UGC, which is akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
The BJP-led government takes hasty decisions in the name of policy interventions to decimate pluralism, and the present target is education. This is nothing but a back-door attempt at saffronising education.
B. Rajasekaran
Bengaluru
Pakistan
Imran Khan worked hard to become one of the best all-rounders in world cricket (“Imran’s innings”, August 17). Similarly, after struggling for 25 years for justice for the people of Pakistan, he has now been elected by them; this has come as a googly to the other political parties. He faces many challenges as Prime Minister and therefore must select the members of his “team” carefully. Most importantly, he has to be cautious of those from within who will cause disturbances to prevent peace and must handle situations carefully and tactfully to remain in power.
Ashok K. Nihalani
Pune, Maharashtra
AS expected, the sham democratic elections in Pakistan under the watchful eyes of the army and the ISI resulted in a hung Assembly. This not only dealt a death blow to democracy but was a ploy to hoodwink the world. Imran Khan, who all along was critical of the army and the ISI interfering in civilian administration, has for the sake of power succumbed to the army, which helped his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerge as the single largest party.
A hung Assembly and a puppet Prime Minister suit the army well, and it can call the shots. It is certain to play a dominant role in India-Pakistan relations. India needs to be vigilant to thwart Pakistan’s nefarious designs against it.
K.R. Srinivasan
Secunderabad, Telangana
Politics
Rahul Gandhi’s speech and behaviour in Parliament on the issue of the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government proved that he is an immature politician (“Signs of unease”, August 17). The one advantage of the no-trust motion is that if Modi is doing something wrong, he will now be more alert and think twice about his actions.
However, the Congress party needs to change with the times and forget dynasty rule. To make a comeback, it needs to seek a capable leader outside the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Mahesh Kumar
New Delhi
Jammu & Kashmir
EVEN those who are in the know of things about Kashmir would not have foreseen that the PDP-BJP alliance with its inherent contradictions would have lasted for more than three and a half years (“Deepening tragedy”, July 20). But the fall of the Mehbooba Mufti Ministry will push Kashmir further into the abyss of escalating violence and turmoil. The reasons the BJP has advanced for its withdrawal from the coalition carry little conviction. It was done with myopic self-centredness for electoral gains in the 2019 general election.
Ayyasseri Raveendranath
Aranmula, Kerala
THE d eepening tragedy of Jammu and Kashmir cannot be discussed by ignoring the original mistakes India committed such as giving the State a special status, which is the root cause of the entire tragedy. The first Prime Minister laid the foundation for an appeasement policy that has resulted in the death of over 60,000 people and the fleecing of thousands of crores of investors. When a country says that one part of its land is not on a par with the rest of the country, it is inviting trouble forever, and that is what has happened in Jammu and Kashmir.
Duggaraju Srinivasa Rao
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
Spy vs spy
A NEEDLESS controversy was created over the book “The Spy Chronicles” because it is written by former chiefs of India’s and Pakistan’s spy agencies (“Storm in a tea cup”, July 6). There are several pre-Partition links between the two neighbours.
The Karachi Chamber of Commerce has a Gandhi plaque. Bhagat Singh, who has a chowk named after him in Lahore, belongs to undivided India. Mohammad Ali Jinnah practised in the Bombay High Court. Now, there are even cross-border marriages. Bollywood movies are popular in Pakistan, and the media there cover Bollywood events. Pakistan has a number of Hindu temples of historical importance. Sikhs go on pilgrimage to gurdwaras in that country.
Efforts should be made to strengthen the strong cultural links between the two nations. Indian TV serials have more airtime on Pakistani channels than local fare. Many of India’s Bollywood stars were born in Pakistan. Some Pakistani artists have become Indian citizens. A former President of Pakistan was born in Agra, and a former Prime Minister of India was born in Pakistan. This book is unprecedented, especially when one considers that the spy agencies of two enemy countries usually only think of harming the interests of both.
Deendayal M. Lulla
Mumbai
COMMents
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