The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Thursday, July 19, 2001,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I L B A G

Govt owes an explanation on PoWs

Pakistan has categorically denied holding 54 Indian PoWs. In all probability these hapless victims of known Pak brutality have been rendered unfit to be publicly handed over.

The present and past Indian governments owe an explanation to the nation as to what action was taken by them to secure the release of these unfortunate heroes since 1971, releasing all evidence available.

The ex-servicemen associations also need to explain their inexplicable silence on such a sensitive matter concerning the force’s morale. We have a whopping deficiency of 15,000 officers in the Indian Army and why not? We are an ungrateful nation.

The present government should approach international human rights organisations and knock the doors of the International Court of Justice for such flagrant violation of the Geneva convention on the treatment of PoWs.

The least that one expects is the awakening of Pakistani conscience.

SUDARSHAN SHARMA, DIG (retd), Garh Palampur

India & Nepal

Apropos the article “Will China back Maoists in Nepal?” (June 29) by M.S.N. Menon, Tibet was occupied in March, 1959, (not 1951). The Communist Party of China was in no position to undertake any grandiose schemes in the early fifties.

May I enlighten the writer that the kings of Nepal had been in practical captivity for nearly a century and the Ranas were the real rulers. King Tribhavan asserted his presence but had to take refuge in the Indian Embassy in 1950 and was later flown to India.

As a result of the efforts of our government and an accord with the Ranas, Maharaja Tribhavan returned to Kathmandu in February, 1951,

I regret to say that we are responsible for the present turbulence in Nepal. King Tribhavan was very grateful to India for his installation as a Maharaja in February, 1952, and so were his successors. Pandit Nehru and his successors took it as their holy mission to advocate democracy in Nepal, much to the annoyance of the Maharajas.

Our Congress governments preached democracy to Burma and Nepal, annoying both. We are now paying the price of our sermons.

Col S.R. NANDA, Chandigarh

Civic services

The news item “Government may scrap privatisation of civic services” is shocking. The sudden reversal of policy will defeat the overall object of providing better services to society by breaking the monopoly of employees of municipal corporations who have not only become lethargic but are thoroughly corrupt.

S.R. MITTAL, Ludhiana

It’s sickening

The report “Rescued woman sent to mental hospital” (July 4) is a painful picture of our sick society. How a husband can treat his wife like a brute by keeping her tied in iron chains in the house is unbelievable in the 21st century.

B.M. RAWELLY, Nabha

Abdominal hystectomy

An increasing number of women in their child-bearing age have to get operated for total abdominal hystectomy (removal of uterus) as some sort of fibroids and cysts develop both in and outside the uterus which if not removed may endanger the body functioning seriously.

Surprisingly such a phenomenon was not acute two or three decades earlier. It appears that family planning measures adopted by couples nowadays are having a serious bearing on women’s health as earlier ladies were not prone to fibroids and cysts as they bore a number of children.

Such a surgery deprives a woman of her basic privilege of child bearing for life, besides curtailing her physical stamina. The trauma of total abdominal hystectomy is also quiet unbearable for the spouse. Will various health organisations, including WHO, look into the matter so that women may be made aware of this scourge?

Meanwhile, nursing homes and private hospitals are getting a good clientele in affected women as not many know about this disease.

B.B. GOYAL, Ludhiana