M A I L B A G

All PTU courses are recognised

A Tribune news item has created confusion about the recognition of certain courses offered by Punjab Technical University. The university was established by the State Legislative Act in 1997 at Jalandhar and duly recognised by the University Grants Commission under Section-2(f) of the UGC Act 1956. The latter implies that all degrees which would be considered, offered and carried out under the university system, are duly recognised by the UGC and hence by the Association of Indian Universities, which has a statutory status to recognise the degrees.

PTU is further venturing on to generate distance education through its courses with the help of franchisees. This is a new venture. All the courses designed conform to the guidelines given by the UGC, including the one recently issued by Dr Hari Gautam, the Chairman, in his recent letter to all VCs.

A strange theory

I refer to the letter titled “Abdominal hysterectomy” (July 19) in which a strange theory has been propounded that due to the use of family planning measures in the last couple of decades, there has been an alarming rise in the diseases which causes a woman to undergo hysterectomy (surgical removal of uterus) in the prime of her child-bearing age, causing mental torture to the couple.

The author, Mr B.B. Goyal, be excused for having the opinion of a layman, however, baseless and ludicrous, on a highly technical matter he obviously knows nothing about. (If he is a medical doctor, his position is even more unenviable: he will be the laughing stock of the whole medical community).

Most of the contraceptives in common use have proved not only to be extremely safe but actually instrumental in preventing, in addition to undesired pregnancy, many serious ailments. The use of condoms is given wide exposure (no pun intended) in all the media for their role in preventing AIDS and genital herpes.

Contraceptive pills have, no doubt, been suspected to be associated from time to time with some risk of heart disease and venous thrombosis but even there, the scientific evidence is no equivocal and contradictory that it is difficult to separate fact from fiction and therefore, millions of women, the world over, have been willingly and gladly using them for decades without coming to any harm.

In any case, there is, so far, no medical evidence to link the use of contraceptives to the development of any disease, including fibroids and cysts, which can ultimately cause a woman to lose her uterus.

However, a vague idea, captured out of thin air in a light mood, unsupported by even a remote semblance of scientific or statistical evidence at all, has sought to negate the years of the struggle of everybody involved in the family planning work.

Dr R. P. JINDAL, Amritsar

Kargil Vijay Divas

The second anniversary of Kargil Vijay Divas was observed on July 26. The best tribute that can be paid to a martyred soldier is by continuing to remember him, recognising his supreme sacrifice and making sure that his family is well looked after and respected. The contribution of the national heroes who took part in earlier wars, being as noteworthy and commendable as any other, is also not to be forgotten at this juncture.

There is no need for the bureaucracy to feel sceptical about the armed forces personnel who are doing a wonderful job in safeguarding our borders. There still is much that can be done to finetune our thinking in matters of national security, including partnership with other like-minded countries, as also to upgrade the equipment and working conditions of those who bear the brunt in times of war.

Wing Cdr S. C. KAPOOR (retd), Noida

SGPC colleges’ test

The test conducted by the SGPC for filling 150 seats in its two engineering colleges was held simply to adjust students with political approaches. I was a victim of this test because the authorities concerned cancelled my name as I didn’t have a “singh” with my name. I submitted the form by hand but clerks there never pointed out any mistake. When I was not given the roll no. I met the authorities concerned who advised me to put up a change of name advertisement in paper. I did that and got it in paper the very next day. Again the Principal didn’t agree, saying that the advertisement was very recent and couldn’t satisfy any purpose.

A boy ranked above me was also not allowed to take the test saying that they didn’t receive the application form whereas the authorities had signed the courier service after receiving the letter. This clearly shows that the authorities are exploiting students in the name of religion.

GAGANDEEP SINGH HANSPAL, Amritsar

Misleading headline

I was highly disappointed to see the headline “Israelis gun down 6 Fatah officials” (July 31) describing an incident which took place near Nablus in the West Bank village of Fara in which six Palestinian Fatah activists were killed in an explosion. I would like to emphasis the fact that the Israel Defence Force authorities have denied any connection with that incident. To our best knowledge, the incident was the result of a blast of explosives handled by the Fatah activists.

In a sensitive and vulnerable situation like in West Asia, articles as well as headlines should be factual. Headlines must not convey a conclusive and baseless judgement. I would appreciate if you could prevent such cases in the future and take measures to correct the false image that Israel supposedly killed six Fatah men as created by the headline in your newspaper.

YARON MAYER, First Secretary, Embassy of Isarel, New Delhi