Letters to the Editor

Published : Jun 25, 2014 12:30 IST

Black money

FL11CURRENCYNOTES

NEW DELHI, 01/11/2013: Currency notes being counted on the eve of Deepawali even as the BSE benchmark Sensex hit a life-time high of 21,293, in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: V. Sudershan

THE Cover Story was (June 27) truly illuminating. It remains to be seen how far Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be successful in getting back the black money stashed abroad and utilising it for development. The maiden decision of the new regime to create a Special Investigation Team (SIT) is encouraging as the preceding government failed to comply with the Supreme Court’s 2011 directive on the issue. The SIT must carry out its assignment without fear or favour.

Black money is much talked about, and despite umpteen commissions and committees being set up to deal with it, the menace is on the rise The political will to reduce corruption is absent because of the nexus between a compromised political class and corrupt businessmen and corrupt sections of the bureaucracy, the police, and, to an extent, even the judiciary. This unholy network works towards self-enrichment, forgetting the fact that the nation is deprived of development with the creation of a parallel economy. The neoliberal reforms since the 1990s have only strengthened the generation of black money. Law enforcement agencies need to be stern in rooting out this monster. India is lawless today because its very system permits the growth of illegality.

Parthasarathy Sen

New Delhi

THE Cover Story covered a wide range of issues. The SIT will need to be backed by rulers with a strong political will if it is to successfully deal with the issue of black money. Thanks to Anna Hazare and his group of agitators who kicked up a row with the then government on the issue of the huge amounts of money locked up by Indians in Swiss banks, the issue received wide attention. The Aam Aadmi Party made this an election issue.

G. Azeemoddin

Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh

Crimes against women

IT is worrisome that women in India continue to be subjected to sexual assault and torture even after the widespread agitations that followed the December 2012 gang rape in Delhi (“A cry from Badaun”, June 27).

It was heart-rending to read about the recent rape and hanging of two teenage girls in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh. In another shocking incident in the State, the mother of a woman who was raped in Etawah district was beaten when she refused to withdraw her complaint against the accused.

Such events make one want to hang one’s head in shame though the politicians seem least bothered. The Chief Minister should chalk out a plan of action as early as possible as law and order in the State is deteriorating rapidly. This is the only way the Samajwadi Party will survive in the next Assembly election.

Jayant Mukherjee

Kolkata

Article 370

A.G. NOORANI pointed out that the abrogation of Article 370, building a Ram temple in Ayodhya and instituting a uniform civil code are constitutionally impossible to fulfil (“Impossible agenda”, June 27). But nothing is impossible or cannot be changed over time. It depends on the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the statesmanship of leaders.

Jacob Sahayam

Thiruvananthapuram

IF Jammu and Kashmir can be given preferential treatment because of its Muslim population, why are there not similar provisions for Sikhs in Punjab and Christians in the north-eastern region?

Although leaders keep on declaring that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, they do not allow Indians from other States to purchase property and settle there. No State deserves any special status. Even B.R. Ambedkar was against the formulation of Article 370. It is because of this Article that the Kashmiri people do not feel that they are citizens of India.

Vote-bank politics makes politicians retain Article 370, and the sooner it is repealed, the better it will be for national integration. Jammu and Kashmir has to depend on the Centre for everything, its revenue is not sufficient even to pay the salaries of State government employees. The Chief Minister’s attitude is tantamount to saying “You should help us in every way, but we won’t be loyal to you”.

S. Raghunatha Prabhu

Alappuzha, Kerala

THERE is a real danger of the BJP trying to up the ante in respect of some of its long-standing pledges on Article 370, the Ram temple issue and a uniform civil code. The rise of the party in the political firmament after its spectacular victory in the general elections has only made the push towards some action on these issues that much imperative, especially with the larger parivar breathing down its neck. However, any rash or lopsided move on such sensitive issues will definitely have catastrophic consequences for the secular fabric of the country besides pushing it to the unseemly spectacle of communal disharmony. The common man voted for the BJP as an alternative to the scam-tainted Congress and not so that it could indulge in divisive politics.

J. Anantha Padmanabhan

Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu

Gopinath Munde

FL11INDIA-MINISTER

Gopinath Munde is administered the oath of office by India's President Pranab Mukherjee (unseen) as he takes up the post of a cabinet minister at the presidential palace in New Delhi, in this picture taken May 26, 2014. Indian Rural Development Minister Munde died on June 3, 2014 after a head-on road collision in New Delhi, depriving Prime Minister Narendra Modi of a senior ally just eight days after taking office. Munde was injured while driving to the capital's airport and died later in hospital. Picture taken May 26, 2014. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (INDIA - Tags: POLITICS OBITUARY)

WITH the tragic demise of Union Rural Development Minister and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, the nation has lost a dynamic politician of immense potential (“Grass-roots leader”, June 27). The obituary was a fitting tribute to him. A leader who maintained cordial relations with his political adversaries, he was known for his unflinching commitment to his ideology and his close rapport with the masses, communicating with them and being one among them. He rose from grass roots to emerge as a mass leader and will be remembered for his relentless struggle against the imposition of Emergency in the country.

B. Suresh Kumar

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Judiciary

INDIA should have a judicial appointments commission to appoint judges to High Courts and the Supreme Court (“From Bar to Bench”, June 27). Nepal has a Judicial Council, which makes recommendations for the appointment and transfer of judges and for disciplinary action against them. It is chaired by the Chief Justice of Nepal, and its ex-officio members include the Minister of Justice, the senior-most justice of the Nepal Supreme Court, a senior advocate or an advocate with at least 20 years of experience who has to be appointed by the Chief Justice on the recommendations of the Nepal Bar Association, and a person to be nominated by the Prime Minister from the jurists. The Judicial Appointments Commission in the United Kingdom appoints judges for High Courts.

Deendayal M. Lulla

Mumbai

Railways

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(FILES) In this photograph taken on May 26, 2014, rescue workers and mangled train compartments are pictured after the Gorakhdham Express rammed into a goods train at Chureb station in Khalilabad, some 700 kilometres (430 miles) east of New Delhi. India's incoming railways minister promised to improve safety on the ramshackle network May 27, 2014 as the death toll from a train crash in the north rose to 26 after more bodies were pulled from mangled carriages. AFP PHOTO/FILES

TO guarantee passengers a safe and comfortable journey, the need of the hour for the Railways is innovation (“Poor track record”, June 27). Carriages and rail infrastructure need to be maintained regularly. To ensure proper maintenance, development and services, the Railways will have to add to its staff strength, especially the permanent and mechanical staff.

T.V. Jayaprakash

Palakkad, Kerala

World Cup

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Official Brazuca ball is pictured during a training session of Germany's national football team in Santo Andre on June 12, 2014 ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup football tournament. AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ

KUDOS to Frontline for giving football fans 16 pages on the game with invaluable photographs from The Hindu Archives (“The greatest spectacle on earth”, June 27). It is a pity that India’s rank varies between 150 and 158, among the 209 countries that have been ranked by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). But the way Indians (as I have seen in Kolkata) have become soccer mad, particularly in favour of Brazil or Argentina, it is as if both teams represent India. There is the ray of hope: The All India Football Federation has signed a deal with IMG and Reliance Industries as part of its effort to develop football, and FIFA has awarded India hosting rights for the U-17 World Cup. With the help of the media, the aam aadmi, big industries and the government, India can soon regain its prime spot in Asia and later on the world stage.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee

Faridabad, Haryana

Narendra Modi

THE Cover Story “Right at the centre” (June 13) explicitly conveyed the disdain the magazine has towards the BJP, particularly towards Prime Minister Modi. From the opening article, which mentions the “serious implications” of his huge victory, to the last one, which referred to legislative priorities, Frontline left no stone unturned in its effort to persuade readers that the new government may not be as promising as the public expect it to be, given the fact that it has been given a “fractured” India. I feel that Frontline could have been a little more positive about a man whose initiatives in one State have had an impact across the world. So, let us have a better outlook and be hopeful that the man at the centre, who is fully aware of the “state of the nation” and the “hard reality”, will be able to put things RIGHT.

A.S. Nair

Puducherry

WE are living in a morally and politically turbulent world. There are no easy or quick ways to bring about changes. Running a homogeneous State like Gujarat was easy, but running India is altogether different. Modi will try certain things to show he has new ideas, but the complex global geopolitical reality will prevent him from effecting any major policy shift though his spin masters are trying to create a picture of him as a man of original ideas.

Santhosh Veranani

Puducherry

Rakhigarh

FLLGRANARY

The granary, built of mud bricks, which is still in a remarkably preserved condition, discovered in March 2014 at the Harappan site of Rakhigarhi village in Haryana. The granary has seven chambers. The chambers' walls, made of mud bricks, are lined with lime (chunam) and grass to ward off insects and moisture from attacking the stored grains. Photo : Rakhigarhi Project/Deccan College, Pune

THE coverage of the archaeological findings at Rakhigarh was like a treasure trove to me (“Harappan surprises”, June 13). One hears bits of news but does not get a detailed description of the whole findings. A special thanks for the photographs. I request you to carry more stories on Indian archaeology, especially Asokan edicts and other important places.

Suresh Nandigam

Jaggayyapet, Andhra Pradesh

Elections

THIS is with reference to the interview with Praveen Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu (May 30). The composure with which he dealt with situations during the elections is commendable. People would never have seen an election conducted in such a decent and strict fashion in the past 40 years or so in Tamil Nadu. On election day at polling booths, the atmosphere was calm, not emotionally charged, which made people enjoy voting as much as if they were attending some social function.

B.B.C. Chandrasekar

Madurai, Tamil Nadu

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