M A I L B A G

A Janus-like government: when Jagmohans get punished

The article “A Janus-like government” by Mr Hari Jaisingh (Sept 7) is thought provoking. Each successive government has betrayed the people. The nation has been fed on false hopes and promises. In this period of great recession, exports have declined, jobs have decreased and the industrial production is sagging.

Perhaps the country is passing through a period of mismanagement, non-performance and non-governance. It is a period of "ad-hocism", factionalism and fractionalism. Only the blue-blooded, the favourites and the faithfuls are adjusted at plum positions. They stick to these places for decades together while the "soft-targets" become victims of all types of rules and regulations.

When a "performer" like Mr Jagmohan is hurt, what can be the fate of lesser mortals? Entrenched vested interests are able to thrive and carry on their activities unchallenged.

Dr L. K. MANUJA, Nahan

Opportunists rewarded: It is the sheer bad luck of our country that people who work honestly and assiduously in the interests of the nation are often punished and sent into oblivion. On the contrary, the corrupt, the selfish, the hypocrites, sycophants and opportunists are rewarded with plum posts and are placed at positions where they can mint money.

HANS RAJ JAIN, Moga

Wheat grass juice

Apropos the article “Chemotherapy & wheat grass juice”, Dr J.D. Wig has done well to educate the public about the process involved in and effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Patients suffering from cancer and their families must have benefited from the two-part write-up.

One of the most important side-effects of chemotherapy is that generally the blood counts (haemoglobin, TLC, DLC etc) fall during this treatment. These counts have to be maintained up to a certain minimum level (by taking food or medicine supplements) for the chemotherapy cycle to be continued.

I read in a book (Panacea on the Earth-Wheat Grass Juice by Dr D. R. Gala & others) that these counts can be maintained at the required level by daily taking certain amount of wheat grass juice. This juice contains active chlorophyll in abundance (chlorophyll has almost same structure as hemin a part of haemoglobin with the difference that chlorophyll molecule has magnesium at centre while hemin has iron). Moreover ph of chlorophyll is 7.4 (slightly alkaline) as is the case of our blood. That is the reason that wheat grass juice is quickly absorbed in the blood.

We tried this wheat grass juice therapy on my wife, who has undergone breast cancer surgery and has taken five cycles of chemotherapy. Her blood counts have remained within the required levels during all these cycles.

Will Dr J.D. Wig comment upon this so that other cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy can benefit from this.

Y. P. MAKKER, Malout

Burqa in Kashmir

The militant organisation forcing Kashmiri Muslim women to wear the burqa is applying a strange logic. Why cannot it also issue the same order for the Muslim women of Pakistan?

Incidentally, the wife of President Musharraf does not wear the burqa in public. For that matter, ladies belonging to the families of Pakistani army officers have never been seen wearing the burqa. This clearly shows that these jehadis are a bunch of cowards terrorising innocent people in the name of religion in Kashmir.

ASHOK SHARMA, Vancouver (Canada)