L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Facts must prevail over faith

P P Rao’s article “An unending dispute” (Oct 5) was timely. It sensitised common people who see the Ayodhya verdict by the Allahabad High Court as a triumph of sanity. The verdict is questionable legalising an illegality and rewarding the trespassers who stealthily installed idols.

The Ayodhya verdict, in fact, has shaken our faith in the institution of judiciary. The verdict is not an example of ‘judicial activism’ but an affirmation of Hindu majoritarianism accepting ‘faith’ over hard evidence or a flawed ASI report and most significantly an indirect justification of the demolition.

People expect an objective judgment based on scientific facts, concrete evidence rather than faith, religious beliefs or political compulsions. There is a need to put a stop to this disturbing precedent wherein faith wins over facts.

Dr VITULL K GUPTA, Bathinda

II

The Ayodhya verdict has finally been announced and has been accepted by the people with calm throughout the country though the government had made elaborate measures to avoid any untoward happening. Every Indian, irrespective of his religion, should honour the verdict. Political parties should not politicise the issue.

It is time politicians, religious leaders and other top brass in the country toiling for the welfare of society came together and found a solution to the issue instead of knocking at the doors of the judiciary. Otherwise the problem will linger on for years, which may not be in the interest of the nation and the coming generations.

J.R. AZAD, Shimla

Protect green cover

The editorial “Axe on green belts: Shimla is unthinkable without trees” (Oct 1) was forthright. The HP Town and Country Planning department’s proposal to lift the ban on the construction activity in the 17 green belts of the state capital where a blanket ban was imposed in 2000 to protect trees and green cover from further depletion. No doubt, the proposal, if implemented, would choke the lungs of the town.

Disbanding the “Green Area Committee” and vesting the power to allow construction activity in the local municipal corporation would make matters worse. We earnestly appeal to the state government to give up the proposal in the larger public interest. Acting in haste and repenting at leisure is never a good policy.

TARA CHAND, Ambota, Una

Modernise forces

The armed forces are not only going obsolete but have also been fighting a losing battle against it (editorial,” Going obsolete”, Oct 6). Wars today are dominated by technology, be it radars, missiles, aircraft, guns or smart weapons. There is an urgent need to draw a clear road-map for removal of obsolescence in the next three to four years and the induction of newer weapon systems partly through outright purchase and rest by transfer of technology.

The Services must decide on the weapon system they need specific to geo-political needs and threat perception. They can cut down inventory substantially by standardisation of conventional stores.

The DRDO needs to focus more on conventional systems rather than going on the guided path forever. There is also an urgent requirement to revamp the Ministry of Defence. Service personnel must be included in it at the decision-making level.

Air Cmde RAGHUBIR SINGH (retd), Pune

Musharraf’s confession

Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s statement that Pakistan trained militant groups to fight in Kashmir (news report, “Yes, we trained ultras against India: Musharraf”, Oct 6) does not come as a surprise. It has been Pakistan’s worst kept secret. India and indeed the world had known all along that Pakistan was indulging in such nefarious activities and was, in fact, the fountainhead of terror not only in the region, but the entire world.

This belated admission without any sense of remorse or regret shows the man in his true colours. This is also, a crude attempt to remain in the good books of the Pakistan army, which, in any case, is the real power centre in that country and also to create some space for his newly launched political outfit amidst the political chaos and mess of that failed state.

Dr M K BAJAJ, Zirakpur

Corrupt officials

In the news report “‘SC: Corrupt officials taking us for a ride!” (Oct 6) the Supreme Court has observed that the corrupt government officials are misusing it and high courts to cover up their nexus with litigants in cases involving huge amount of public money or public property. The case under question involved filing of regular second appeal by the Jharkhand Government after a delay of 501 days and thereafter filing an appeal in SC after a delay of over one year.

I fully endorse the views expressed by the apex court. The governments are at a receiving end at the hands of their own employees who have been entrusted the duty of following up court cases. This is primarily due to utter lack of culture of fixing responsibility for lapses.

The corrupt people first of all take decisions forcing litigations on other parties and thereafter conduct the cases in such a manner that the benefit with interest flows to the other party through court judgement. They believe that once there is an order from the court, no one can be held responsible. Filing cases after a long delay comes handy to these officials. The governments have to devise strict regulatory mechanism to stop this avoidable drain on resources.

S C CHABBA, Patiala

Have faith To the middle “Of fear and mistrust!” (Sept 28) by Balvinder, I would like to add that each one of us, without exception, suffers from one or the other fear at one stage or the other. It lurks at the back of our mind and torments us. When one is unable to overcome that fear and suffers on account of it, one has a tendency to start mistrusting one’s own talent, faith and prowess. It is a very natural and common occurrence. In such a situation of depression and defeatism, one is bound to run from one religious faith to the other in search of solace, courage and solution. There is hardly any harm in it because faith is a personal matter and a private affair. The ocean of mysticism is unfathomable and the results are unpredictable. So let people derive bliss from wherever they can. CHAMAN ARORA, Ferozepore city