Gujral’s views on foreign policy

The interview that the former Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister of India, Mr I.K. Gujral, gave to Mr Hari Jaisingh was timely (“India’s image is not the issue, interest is: Gujral”, Oct 14).

The interview covered various foreign policy issues, including India’s stand on the CTBT and its relations with P-5, G-8, NAM and neighbouring countries. However, Mr Gujral’s comment on his initiative on India’s case for permanent membership of the UN Security Council was missing.

He has been perfect in the conduct of our external affairs, but his handling of the media has gone a sea change since he bowed out as Minister for Information and Broadcasting during the Emergency.

The Ministry of External Affairs may take a leaf out of the book of Mr Gujral, of course, after updating it in the light of the developments after Pokhran-II.

SAT PAL SHARMA
Patiala

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The holiday problem

Apropos of the report “Series of holidays boon or bane?” (October 5), the closure of government offices for eight successive days was, indeed, a cruel joke on the people of a poor country like India.

Shockingly enough, only a couple of days after the publication of the above report, the Himachal Pradesh government declared a gazetted holiday for women employees on account of Karva Chauth. So much for the effect of such write-ups on the authorities.

By the way, may I know why such a special gesture was shown to the women staff of HP? When women can (and did) attend their offices in other parts of the country, what is the problem in Himachal Pradesh? In all probability, the HP government will be forced to declare such a holiday in future also. In fact, we could even be hearing of agitations in other parts of the country in support of a demand for Karva Chauth holiday for women employees “on Himachal pattern”.

Incidentally, I can’t help recalling a speech delivered by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee (ironically) at Shimla in June this year in which he called upon the people to firmly unite to meet the challenge posed by the sanctions (imposed by certain countries in the wake of the nuclear tests conducted by India) and render those negative measures ineffective. My question is: when the government itself does not bother about the burden on the nation’s economy while declaring so many holidays, how can it expect the common man to respond to its call?

SURENDRA MIGLANI
Kaithal

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The Tajewala story

This refers to the editorial “an avoidable crisis” (Oct 21). The Yamuna originates from the Yamnotri and has no catchment area in Haryana upstream of Tajewala. While unprecedented rain just before Divali was reported in Haryana, there is no way it could have caused an increase in water flow of river at Tajewala.

Further, the popular perception that Haryana releases excess water into the Yamuna from Tajewala and this affects Delhi is totally devoid of truth. The truth is that Tajewala is only a barrage and not a dam. It is meant to divert the water of the Yamuna into the canals of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In the case of a barrage, there is no storage facility like dams, and any quantity of water beyond the capacity of the canals has to be released into the river. The guidelines of the Central Water Commission, based on the model studies, prescribe that water must not be diverted into the canals when the flow in the Yamuna exceeds 70,000 cusecs, as there is the possibility of heavy boulders flowing in the river making their way to canals causing heavy damage.

Thus, as soon as the water flow upstream of Tajewala exceeds 70,000 cusecs, engineers of the state government manning the Tajewala headworks are supposed to open all the gates of the barrage and close the canal gates simultaneously so that the entire water of the river flows uninterrupted. They are also supposed to inform the authorities downstream about the quantum of discharge in the river.

On that unfortunate day — October 17 — when the discharge in the river began to exceed 70,000 cusecs, the subdivisional officer posted at the Tajewala headworks was fully alert and got the gates of the barrage opened. During this operation, one out of total of 10 gates of the barrage got stuck and was ultimately washed away with the gushing waters. Technically speaking, the impact of an open gate or the one washed away is the same. Although reconstruction of the gate would involve an additional expenditure from the state exchequer, for the situation on hand it made no difference. Not even one drop of extra water reached Delhi because of the washing away of the gate.

The state government had alerted the people along the river and taken effective steps to avert any loss of life and property. The Chief Engineer (Floods), Government of Delhi, Mr A.K. Gupta, was informed on the phone by Superintending Engineer, Haryana Irrigation, posted at Delhi on October 18 at 7 a.m. about the excessive flow of water from Tajewala, which normally takes about 60 hours to reach Delhi.

R.K. KHULLAR
DPR, Haryana
Chandigarh

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Onion prices

The sky-rocketing prices of onions are causing agony to housewives all over the country. To consider that all this is man-made due to our planners’ mistakes makes the matters still worse.

Firstly, the government kept on exporting onions without considering the effect of the expected shortfall due to vagaries of weather. The worst part is the meagre quantity of 13,000 tons, which we read in the papers, that the government is importing to relieve pressure on the rising prices. It is amazing as to how the planners sitting in airconditioned offices have arrived at this figure. The population of the country is now nearly 90 crore and allowing 4-5 members per family, there are nearly 25 crore families to be served by this imported quantity.

To have some relief in the near future, the only answer is for all the housewives to stop the use of onions in the kitchen. Nobody is going to die if we leave the onions for a short while. This method has been successfully employed by consumers in Western countries, and there is no reason to believe that it will not succeed here.

LIEUT-COL SARWAN SINGH (retd)
Chandigarh

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Complete personality

The news item “Education ignored: Amartya Sen” (Oct 16) prompts me to remark that education makes the citizens more useful to the state. It should be common to all, like water and bread.

Sound education should develop and exercise both mental ability and manual skill. If you wield only the pen and the tongue, you miss half the sweetness of life. St Paul was both a rabbi and a journeyman. He made rotten theology, but very good tents. Spinoza manufactured philosophy, and also polished lenses. The Benedictine monks devoted themselves to study and agricultural labour. Henry D. Thoreau was an author and lecturer, but he also worked as a gardener, fence-builder, white-washer and pencil-maker. Cleanthes was a student of philosophy by day and labourer by night.

The lives of such well-trained men should spur you on to complete your own personality, if it is deficient. If you are only a brain-worker, cultivate the hobby of manual worker. If you are a working man, devote your leisure to study and intellectual pursuits.

This rule will abolish the two castes, which are due to one-sided specialisation.

AVTAR NARAIN CHOPRA
Kurukshetra

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Tailpiece

Name something which becomes alive even after going dead?

Answer: Telephone!

K.J.S. AHLUWALIA
Amritsar