Letters to the Editor

Public health

THE public health care system in India is neglected and stands exposed when there is an outbreak of a disease (Cover Story, October 16). The mere allocation of funds will not be enough to fix the problem. The rise in cases of dengue, chikungunya, swine flu, etc., is linked to the fact that India has poor sanitation and drainage systems. A spell of heavy rain is enough to cause an outbreak of waterborne diseases. Leaders talk big on issues but do not have any serious intention of improving government and cantonment hospitals.

Balasubramaniam Pavani, Secunderabad, Telangana

ORDINARY citizens cannot afford private health care (“For private plunder”, October 16). If someone goes to a private hospital for treatment, there are chances that he/she will be asked to undergo unnecessary medical tests.

In India, private hospitals are reluctant to give patients their medical records, which are a patient’s property. In this respect, public hospitals score over private ones because the former give patients their medical records even without being asked to do so. In the U.K., patients can demand their medical records under the Data Protection Act. India needs a similar law.

Deendayal M. Lulla, Mumbai

Netaji files

THE files the West Bengal government made public reveal that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was alive after 1945 (“Bose returns”, October 16). Maybe, the lack of proper technology at that time is one of the reasons for the prolonged suspense over Bose’s death.

P. Senthil Saravana Durai, Vazhavallan, Tamil Nadu

THE evidence suggests that Bose died in a plane crash in Taipei, though thousands continue to believe that he went into hiding. Why did Mamata Banerjee choose to have the files declassified precisely at this juncture?

Was Nehru so strong that he could fool everyone into believing that Bose died in an air crash or was Bose so weak that he was afraid to tell his countrymen that he was alive? Those who understand Bose’s nature will know it would have been impossible for him to have hidden himself for so long a period. One hopes that the mystery will be cleared up after the Centre declassifies the files it has with it.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad, Haryana

Manipur

THE Chief Ministers of Nagaland and Mizoram and other elected members interfered in the internal affairs of Manipur by writing to the Prime Minister to kill the three Bills passed in Manipur (“Manipur in ferment”, October 16). This was uncalled for. How can the Inner Line Permit System be anti-tribal in Manipur when it is in force in their States? Nagas, who were officially recognised for the first time in the electoral rolls of 1971, are using the issue to further their pipe dream of an “alternative arrangement”. The stony silence from the Union government has put paid to the outlandish demand of the indigenous tribes of Manipur who are using “Naga” as a suffix to their traditional names. The Union government should not capitulate to unreasonable demands in its search for an elusive peace in the north-eastern region.

Hiyang Athouba, Ukhrul, Manipur

Census politics

THE Cover Story on “Population politics” (October 2) was informative. From the stories, one can understand how the BJP and its allies are trying to stoke up communal tensions in some areas where there is harmony between Hindus and Muslims.

Bodapatla Ravinder, Wyra, Telangana

Anti-NGO

THE Modi government’s clampdown on NGOs in the country is fraught with disastrous consequences for the poor (“Crushing dissent”, October 2). Its targeting of Greenpeace India is particularly disturbing. In evidence is the government’s intolerance of any criticism of its pro-corporate policies. The move to use the Nehru museum to showcase activities of the government is nothing but another attack on anything connected with the former Prime Minister, arguably one of India’s great leaders, and is an unwarranted interference. It is only wishful thinking if the government feels that by suppressing Nehru’s ideas and the part he played in the freedom struggle the people of the country will forget him. Nehruvian thoughts are firmly entrenched in India.

J. Anantha Padmanabhan, Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu

THE BJP government’s plan to recast and make the Nehru museum “more contemporary” is part of the Sangh Parivar’s systematic efforts to devalue Nehru. Museums are for things of the past. According to Lokesh Chandra, the museum’s chairman, it is to house the evolution of democracy, the achievements of the Indian Space Research Organisation, smart cities, and so on. Smart cities are yet to come into existence! Nehru laid a firm foundation for democracy in this country and scrupulously nursed it for 17 years, so why try to diminish his contribution? As for the ISRO, it can and should have a separate museum as the Railways do. The plan to recast the museum is a ruse to camouflage a sinister purpose.

S.P. Shukla, Thane, Maharashtra

History

THE interview with Romila Thapar made for edifying reading as she cogently discussed how history should be pursued as a discipline to understand the past and the present in a better way (Cover Story, September 18). History is not something to be crammed. Its relevance can only be sustained if it fosters an objective and a holistic analysis of the past and avoids a skewed interpretation of historical events. Prof. Thapar observed that the habit of reading is on the wane. A society that gives up serious reading loses its humanistic moorings because of the ignorance that sets in for want of appropriate knowledge. The reading habit should be encouraged.

Rakesh Kumar Sinha, Jhumri Telaiya, Jharkhand