Modi’s government
I LIKE Frontline for its fearless reporting of harsh ground realities, and the Cover Story (“Rhetoric and reality”, June 24) is an example of this.
Actions speak louder than words, and acche din and Swachh Bharat have remained only slogans. Most of the Prime Minister’s time has been spent on foreign visits. While a proper foreign policy is a must, it is more important to settle issues on the home front. The nation is facing droughts, but are there any concrete moves to save rainwater and conserve it? The rise in prices is breaking the back of the common man. Health care has not improved, nor has any serious attempt been made to improve it. The Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme has not been given the priority it needed. Five years is a limited time to get things done, but an honest attempt would result in at least some success.
The government has everything going in its favour, that is, a clear majority and a weak opposition, yet at the halfway mark it has not delivered on its promises.
Balasubramaniam Pavani, Secunderabad, Telangana
IT is hard for me to believe that in a country of increasingly thin-skinned journalism, Frontline is upholding courageous, honest and objective journalism. The details given in the Cover Story articles were staggering. The statistics comparing the current government with previous ones were informative and revealing.
Sundar, Bengaluru
THE two years of BJP government at the Centre has brought little cheer to the common man. The economy is not doing as well as projected by the government, and the prices of essential commodities are spiralling out of control. The agriculture sector is hardly in the government’s scheme of things. Worse, the government is clueless on the measures to be taken to tackle the drought in many States. The poorer sections of society are finding themselves pushed to the brink because of the cuts in the budgetary allocations for various social sector schemes. The insurance schemes that were introduced with much fanfare will not put any money directly in the hands of the poor. The working class in the organised and unorganised sectors is feeling the heat because of the amendments to labour laws.
The BJP is trying to hide its non-performance with various diversionary tactics, such as the JNU row, the beef controversy and browbeating NGOs.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan, Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
THE Cover Story succinctly presented the real picture of the government’s performance. The government spent crores of rupees to present its two years’ achievements as real. When the BJP was in the opposition, it accused the Congress of misusing Doordarshan. Now the BJP has done the same and uses the media to pat itself on the back. It is unfortunate that the NDA under A.B. Vajpayee, which performed better than the present government, faced a setback in 2004 in spite of its India Shining campaign. One hopes that this government wakes up before it is too late.
N. Nagarajan, Secunderabad, Telangana
MODI’S two years in office as Prime Minister have been disappointing and uninspiring, especially for the voiceless millions of rural India. It is unfortunate that sections of the mainstream media which were hostile to Modi in the wake of the Gujarat pogrom are slowly caught in the web of Modi’s blistering rhetoric, veiled threats and inducements.
N.C. Sreedharan, Kannur, Kerala
MODI’S now-familiar assertion that the BJP has saved the nation from the ills of the previous government is farcical. The triumvirate of Modi, Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley has hijacked the BJP. When the senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi spoke up against Amit Shah’s authoritarianism, they were ignored. The BJP’s triumph in the Assam Assembly election has only strengthened the triumvirate. The Sangh Parivar’s communal agenda that the BJP government is implementing is against the ethos of a secular country like India. After two years of the Modi government, one can conclude that it is high on rhetoric.
S. Murali, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
ONE must congratulate the Modi-led government for completing two years in office and coming up with various schemes and strategies. But, there are tough tasks ahead. To start with, the government and the country have to gear up for the vagaries of the monsoon. Also, the climate change issue must be handled properly. It is time for India to make use of its huge tracts of unutilised land and many natural resources for everyone’s benefit. The government should take urgent steps to improve infrastructure across the country, strengthen the education system and create more jobs.
P. Senthil Saravana Durai, Vazhavallan, Tamil Nadu
NEET
IT is a welcome sign that the Supreme Court revisits some of its earlier judgments and takes corrective action (“Test in question”, June 24). But the judgment that needs urgent correction is the one in the T.M.A. Pai Foundation case, which paved the way for the total commercialisation of education.
It rejected the pronouncements in the Mohini Jain and Unni Krishnan cases that education was a service and that there was no place for business in providing education. The T.M.A. Pai Foundation judgment not only negatived this but declared that education was a business and that any citizen could found an educational institution without prior approval from anybody. Affiliation is needed only to present students for examinations.
This led to a proliferation of institutions, from the nursery to the medical education level without basic amenities and not fulfilling the standard rules of affiliation. Institutions were started and infrastructure was then built with the money collected from parents and students as capitation fees.
The Supreme Court has laid down the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) as a measure to stop commercialisation of medical education. This can be achieved easily by prescribing that no educational institution can be started unless it fulfils the basic conditions of recognition or affiliation. Caste and money power have gained ascendancy in categorising schools and colleges. This is not a healthy sign.
S.S. Rajagopalan, Chennai
Gujarat pogrom
THE June 2 judgment in the Gulberg Society case came as a rude shock to the victims and survivors, who were looking forward to justice being delivered after a 14-year wait (“Half justice”, June 24). The fact that only 24 people were found guilty out of the frenzied mob that entered the complex and killed residents, raped women and destroyed and looted property shows that there is something amiss with the judicial process.
K.R. Srinivasan, Secunderabad, Telangana
THE article was able to convince the reader that the Gulberg Society case was handled badly. It appears that even the Supreme Court-appointed SIT is being suspected of not having done a good job.
I wish to point out a fact that proves the selective nature of the decisions made by the Supreme Court. Thousands of Sikh people were killed all over India in the riots following Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984. Those accused of being involved were tried in various courts, including the Supreme Court. Not many people were convicted, and the families of the victims are still waiting for justice.
I only wish that the victims of the Gujarat riots get justice early.
H.C. Pandey, New Delhi
Triple talaq
CAN a solemn ritual like marriage that binds two souls and two families be annulled simply by saying talaq thrice (“Contested practice”, June 24)? It is unimaginable. When lives are ruined with the pronouncement of triple talaq, I feel that the practice should be banned.
K.P. Rajan, Mumbai
ISRO
THE news of ISRO’s successful launch of a winged Reusable Launch Vehicle was truly heartening (“Growing wings”, June 24). The historic feat can be attributed to the relentless teamwork and unflinching perseverance of ISRO’s scientists and speaks volumes for their calibre. The successful launch has yet again demonstrated to the whole world that Indian scientists are second to none and that the sky is their limit.
B. Suresh Kumar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Penguins
KUDOS to Dr Jon Langeland for his striking photographs of penguins in the article “Symphony on ice” (June 24). The ones showing a chick being fed by its mother and penguins lying on the ground were particularly superb. I hope Frontline carries more such articles on wildlife from different parts of the globe.
Sumeendranath R., Bengaluru
U.S. election
THE U.S. presidential election is throwing up many surprises this time (“Election exhaustion”, June 24). Suspense was generated about who would be the presidential nominees. It seems that the quality of candidates contesting this election is not up to the mark, and the statements they make speak for themselves.
But statements made by those contesting elections are just election gimmicks. In India, a leader of the ruling party admitted that election promises were just “jumlas” (gimmicks) and not to be taken seriously.
Deendayal M. Lulla, Mumbai
Nepal
Ethnic Madhesi protesters throw stones and bricks at Nepalese policemen in Birgunj, a town on the border with India, Nepal, Monday, Nov. 2, 2015. Ethnic protesters demonstrating against the new constitution clashed with police in south Nepal Monday which left at least one person killed and several more injured, officials said. (AP Photo/Jiyalal Sah)
THE article “Awaiting Nepal’s second liberation” (June 10) appeared to blame the ills of Nepal on corruption, as if the rest of South Asia is squeaky clean. It was even patronising towards Nepal, suggesting not only what it should do to address the Madheshi question but going to the extent of telling Madheshi members of the mainstream parties what they should do, namely resign and join the Madheshi movement.
I am no expert in Nepali affairs but am aware of the decades of Nepali resentment against India for a variety of reasons, including Indian-imposed unequal treaties. I see striking parallels between the Indian establishment’s attitude towards the Tamil question in Sri Lanka and the Madheshi question in Nepal. In both cases, the desire to dominate a weaker neighbour has taken advantage of the sentiments of a large local community in India to justify its unwarranted meddling in the internal affairs of the neighbour.
The author of the article was also resentful of growing Chinese influence in Nepal and even suggested that there was a Chinese hand in the recent power struggle at the centre. One thing is certain: in Sri Lanka, the Chinese score over India because they do not get involved in internal political affairs. The same will be true of Nepal soon, if it is not already so.
S. Sivasegaram, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Temple entry
THE basic rights of Indian citizens are denied every day in the name of tradition, be it within the family or in the community (“In the name of tradition”, May 27). The caste system leads to unwanted violence and restrictions. The lower castes have no way of escaping the system as they face the same problems even if they convert to another religion. They face difficulties in collecting water from wells and attending functions at temples and other places. Even the country’s democratic institutions ignore them. The caste system is making a mockery of the Constitution. Religious leaders and both leftist and rightist politicians should do something about the situation of women and Dalits and other weaker sections. Otherwise India cannot progress.
Mohan Aksharam, Thiruvalla, Kerala
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