Why are some posts vacated during winter and vigilance measures adopted for such posts? When and how did he learn of enemy intrusion and occupation of Indian territory in his operational area of responsibility?

What were the battalions and commanders or other agencies who failed to physically patrol their areas of their responsibility or other forms of surveillance, particularly of the vacated winter posts?

When did he initiate the Situation Report (SITREP) detailing enemy intrusion in his area of responsibility? If and when he came to know of such enemy intrusion and occupation on Indian territory across the LOC in his area of responsibility, what action did he physically take to check or remove such intrusion? If he had truthfully reported and made best effort to contain the situation but was not being "listened to" by his superiors, what stopped him from initiating a request in writing to be removed from command as he was not capable of performing miracles with the resources made available to him.

In a well-staged press meet aired by Aaj Tak TV channel on June 25, Brigadier Singh stated that he was in no way responsible for the creation of 800 war widows and 2000 soldier casualties due to the Kargil war and stated that it was General Malik and the government who were responsible. He also further stated that he was not subject to a court martial as there was no evidence against him.

Obviously, Brigadier Singh does not consider physical presence of the enemy which intruded into Indian territory and occupied posts and heights in his Brigade sector of responsibility as sufficient evidence to prove his culpability and capability.

It would appear that the sacked Brigadier, to cloak his catastrophic command failure, leading to the Kargil war, is using the art of obfuscation and creating doubts in the public mind through misinformation and disinformation. His is an attempt to create three prongs to fight his litigation, i.e trial by the media, trial in a law court and a mistrial by politicians, because his next assertion is likely to be that he has been punished because he belongs to a particular community.

The sensational headline in The Tribune and a well-managed press meet, aired by a TV channel, are the Brigadier's first shots fired in defence of his "honour". Honour of his country and service can come later. What an ironical twist to the Chetwode motto which ushered him into the great Indian Army!

It is not my purpose to patronise the former COAS or the present government. The Subhramanyam Kargil Committee Report has alluded to a massive command failure by the nation — be it the politician, bureaucrat, intelligence pundits or soldiers. But, for the nation’s "Watchman on Site", who should have been the first to know about such an intrusion, to absolve himself of all responsibility is immoral, un-soldier like and lacks character.

MAJ-GEN K. kHORANA (RETD), Panchkula

A day for doctors July 1 is observed every year as "Doctor's day". This also happens to be the birthday of Dr B.C. Roy, a towering political personality of the post-Independence era, a former Chief Minister of West Bengal and also a famous physician. A lot of water has flown down the Hoogly since the days of Dr Roy. Medical science has made tremendous technological advance in the last couple of decades and with the help of a vast array of diagnostic aids which have now become available, prolongation of life is no longer a myth, but a distinct reality. But sadly somewhere down the line, mutual respect and admiration between the patient and his physician has been lost. Patients and their relatives have become more demanding and aggressive and even resort to litigation which at times is frivolous. Physicians, on the other hand, have distanced themselves from their patients, become impersonal and given a purely commercial colour to their establishments and profession. This, perhaps, is the price, society has to pay for the great advances made in the field of medicine, but this certainly does not auger well for the future. Not too far back, physicians were referred to as Vaidyo Narayano Hari. This is no longer true. On this Doctor's day, therefore, let the esteemed members of the medical fraternity pledge to reclaim and restore the lost glory and pristine prestige of this noble profession. DR M. K. BAJAJ, Yamunanagar

Conflicting reports

In The Tribune issue of June 22 you have two conflicting reports about General Musharraf declaring himself President. In a report "India maintains stoic silence" it is said that India was surprised by the declaration, but in the report "Vajpayee knew of Musharraf's plan" it is reported that Mr Vajpayee knew well in advance about this move.

How could Mr Vajpayee know about this move of General Musharraf when his own Cabinet and civil service did not know this?

YOGESH DATTA, Australia

Shimla’s libraries

Shimla's state libraries both in Gandhi Bhavan and on The Ridge are in utter neglect.

Books in the dark, dingy and musty library in Gandhi Bhavan are so full of dust that one has literally to wash one's hands after handling them! Moreover, some books are very old and rare and need to be maintained. Most of the books are of the British times and are virtually just dumped there.

Both libraries cry for space. New books and periodicals are needed. Adequate trained staff, proper furniture, toilets, drinking water with disposable glasses etc are urgently required for proper functioning of both libraries.

The libraries must equip themselves with photostat machines too for the convenience of members to take notes.

ROSHNI JOHAR, Shimla

Boys disillusioned

"Girls outshine boys" read headlines of examination results. Our girls are doing better and they deserve to be complemented. But at the same time it is a matter of grave concern that the performance of boys is going down with each passing year. The reason for this is obviously that boys are a disillusioned and frustrated lot. Job opportunities have almost dried up. The government should come out with result-oriented plans to generate job opportunities.

Ill-qualified law-makers

Some minimum qualification is mandatory for getting into government service. Now even peons are supposed to possess some education. Ironically, no qualifications are required for our MPs and MLAs responsible for shaping the destiny of the nation.

Will the Constitution Review Commission recommend some minimum academic qualifications for our law-makers?

J. K. MAGO, Panchkula

Blacklist firm

Indian wheat sent under the oil-for-food agreement was found substandard by the Iraqi Grain Board for the fourth time. As a result 23,000 tonnes of wheat sent by a New Delhi-based company to Iraq was rejected. The company should be blacklisted for bringing disgrace to India.

GORAYA P.S, Chandigarh

Saving certificates

Kisan Vikas Patra certificates are not available in post offices of Punjab. The government has been launching campaigns to mobilise savings (like issuing lucky coupons) but strangely these certificates have not been made available for nearly two months.