Those who happen to be at the helm of national affairs need to do some soul-searching. We are gullible enough to be misled again and again. Our political culture is destroying our agriculture as well as our culture.

R.B. YADAV DEHATI, Fatehabad

Political culture: Hari Jaisingh has given us a clear picture of the so-called efficient government. Though we have achieved considerable progress in different fields but that progress has not changed the life of the general public. We lack commitment, dedication and honesty as compared to other countries. We have not been able to create the right atmosphere, which should enable people to rise on merit. Scams, scandals and corrupt practices have become an integral part of the political culture today. Everyone wants to gain at the cost of the public exchequer. Politicians exploit the people’s illiteracy and ignorance for their vote-bank. But public welfare is totally ignored.

It is our duty to awaken people and ourselves so that we can make our rulers accountable for their non-performance and malpractices and hold them responsible for their sins of omission and commission. Our highly complex social setting demands that we go beyond narrow ideological parameters to a larger canvass of consensus with a view to ensuring that people’s resources, information, knowledge, public concern, ethics, development, norms, transparency, accountability get the rightful place in governance at all levels.

There must be a transparent and accountable system free from all types of misdeeds. Only then we can achieve our goal of true development, which will be meant for the public only.

VINOD K. VERMA, Ferozepur

Competitive scenario: You have rightly stated that “We have to draw our own balance-sheet and honestly see how and where we stand in comparison to other countries in today’s highly competitive world.” In today’s competitive scenario it has become imperative for us to sit back and introspect, to see things in the right perspective, to work around the mindsets of people and take corrective action.

To further borrow a quote from your article “There are no shortcuts to the hard road to faster growth which alone can take the country forward as a viable people-oriented developed nation.” I am in total agreement with your opinion and would like to add that only precious little can be achieved with haste, especially in light of the ever-increasing pressure on performance and growth.

This is not only true for a country but also for industry.

ASHOK GOYAL, by e-mail

Democracy: There is no doubt that democracy held out the promise of a brave new Indian nation, but its practitioners deformed the image through bitter errors and tragic crimes. Today we badly need to achieve our goals: more democracy, more socialism, a better life for the common man. It involves a radical reform on a broad front touching all aspects of life of an average citizen. On top of the agenda should be sweeping political reforms guaranteeing the right to information and separating the party from daily administration (vesting bureaucrats, managers and planners at all levels with a good degree of professional independence).

As stressed by the author, a new socio-political atmosphere of openness, accountability, criticism and self-criticism is the crying need of the hour. A real revolution of the consciousness is a pre-requisite for the creation of a new life in our polity. If we are to survive we need to have a political system which can withstand the pressure of populism and attend to long-term interests of the country.