The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wednesday, September 20, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I L B A G

Rabbit hunting and the law

THE news-item “Monsoon — the nightmare for rabbits” (September 12, page 6) is an expression of conflict between the few who enjoy killing or torturing animals, and many who have compassion for them. The killing of rabbits during monsoon nights by farmers and Saansis with guns and hunter dogs is a crude manifestation of human insanity.

The fact that hordes of farmers accompanied by Saansis venture out on tractors to hunt for their lust for rabbit meat does not titillate, it stuns. The alleged camping of policemen and other officials in these villages to relish rabbit meat speaks of their disgraceful venture which deserves condemnation. Such people should be shown the video-tape of the burly policemen serving the sick and abandoned animals round the clock in Jalandhar.

The hunting fraternity has come out with ludicrous statements that hunting of rabbits helps curb the rabbit menace in the Kandi area of Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Ropar districts. They allege that hordes of rabbits attack and damage their crops, especially during monsoon nights.

This is neither convincing nor a fact. This is only to find an excuse for hunting rabbits. It is disgraceful for gun-totting farmers to shoot rabbits mercilessly or get them ripped to pieces by their squabbling dogs.

Such goings-on are too shocking for words in a country which has high reputation throughout the world for love and caring for animals. Laws are there to check illegal hunting, but they are followed more in breach than in observance.

SOSHIL RATTAN
Amritsar

Tackling the proxy war

APROPOS of the article “Proxy war in Kashmir” by a retired General is meaningful as regards the governance of Kashmir. The unified command under the prevailing circumstances has a negligible role. I have no hesitation in saying that the numbers of headquarters, which are functioning in a pyramidal structure, contribute very little to pinning down an insurgent.

The insurgent is well armed to strike at the time and point of his choosing. After that he can melt away into the local population. The time given by an insurgent to the security forces after he has attacked is very little for any hot pursuit to be possible. There is need to change our tactics and strategy to tackle the insurgency.

First of all, there is no need to base our deployment on the conventional system of platoon, company and unit. A team or a group should be given responsibility of a definite territory. It can be based on village territorial jurisdiction or deployed in a territory demarcated on the basis of the terrain in that area. Such teams/groups should form a grid pattern of deployment, right from the border and thereafter in the depth areas.

Lieut-Col G. S. GHUMAN (retd)
Chandigarh

Parsis in India

THE decision of Sanjan Memorial Column Committee to bury the “time capsule” on the cultural heritage of the Parsi community is laudable (“Time capsule”, Sept 13).

Parsis have played a significant role in the Indian political system, in education and the field of economics. Only three Indians — Dadabhai Naoroji, Mancherji Bhavnagri, Shapoorji Saklatvala — were elected to the British Parliament, and all of them were Parsis.

This community produced world renowned Dr Homi Bhabha, the father of India’s atomic energy programme, and Zubin Mehta, the Jazz maestro. Jamsetji Tata of this community heralded the dawn of the age of technology in India. The foundation of India’s industrial growth was actually laid by him.

Dadabhai Naoroji was the first Indian to be appointed Professor of Mathematics in 1852 in Elphinstone College, Bombay. Daver established the first steam-powered cotton mill in 1854 in Bombay.

Parsis have been very prosperous. As per the census of 1864 of Bombay, not even a single beggar was found to be Parsi. But today the economic condition of this microscopic Indian community is not that good. In spite of this, the community has never asked for special privileges.

AJAY BAGGA
Hoshiarpur

Neglected REC

THIS refers to the news item “REC staff demands regular Principal” (Sept 3) I want to say that the REC, Hamirpur, is the first and foremost institute of technical education in HP. It is disheartening to note that it is in a state of utter neglect.

The very fact that it has been functioning without a regular principal for more than two years, many posts in various departments are lying unfilled. This will adversely affect the standards of higher technical education.

PREM CHAND MARWAH
Joginder Nagar

Is it an honour?

I have read with interest the “Chandigarh Calling” (Sept 11) piece regarding the millennium Hindi award to be given by the World Hindi Conference. Later, I read in other newspapers about the same award to be given to a large number of individuals for their “invaluable service in the field of Hindi”.

Since I also got the letter for the same award and I know that I have not contributed much except for writing/publishing a few books, etc, and it is insignificant if we compare the contribution of great writers in the past and today, I have every reason to suspect that these awards are nothing but a gimmick to gain popularity and gather audience for the conference by the organisers.

It will be worthwhile to mention here that every year the American Biographical Society, the National Library of Poetry, etc, (all USA-based) announce such awards to sell their books containing biodata and poetry of “awardees” to them. We see news-items praising such “great men and women” for their excellence.

A couple of years back The Tribune had exposed this business tactics by informing that these societies were simply befooling Indians. Now our Indian friends want to repeat the same as we are a credulous society.

HIRDAY PAUL SINGH
Andretta (Palampur)