M A I L B A G

Need to check corruption in public life

Apropos of the article “Corruption in public life” by Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Krishna Murthy (Nov 1), I do appreciate his views regarding corruption which has become a way of life. No political party is ready to bar criminals from contesting the elections. The Manmohan Singh government should amend the law barring criminals, whether sentenced by the courts, undergoing imprisonment, or charge-sheeted by any court for murder, corruption or any other civil/criminal act, from consisting the elections.

We need a Lok Pal bringing the President, the Prime Minister and others under his purview to end corruption. All government officers should declare their assets and liabilities after recruitment and every year afterwards. Vigilance committees should be constituted in all the departments, financial institutions, banks etc., comprising people of eminence, honesty and integrity to recommend action against corrupt employees.

All government employees should be transferred every two years. The judiciary should be revamped and a time-bound procedure adopted for disposal of a case not more than three years.

SHIV KUMAR GUPTA, Secretary-General, Anti-Corruption Council of India, Ludhiana

Saving Himachal trees The forest cover is fast depleting because of the rural people’s increasing use of wood for their daily needs, local functions and marriages. True, LPG is a big boon for most villagers, but trees are cut with impunity for family and community functions. For a marriage function, five to six trees are cut for wood. To prevent this indiscriminate felling, the state government should provide one subsidised gas connection with five cylinders to every rural Mahila Mandal. These cylinders can be used during these functions. D.D. THAKUR, Kutahch, Sukki-Bain (Mandi)

Not the solution

Apropos of Justice Rajindar Sachar’s letter “The menace of strays dogs” (Nov 15), it is the carrying capacity of an area that determines the level of dog population. The carrying capacity is dependent on the availability of food, water and shelter. Removal or destruction is soon compensated by more production of dogs.

Controlling the dog population is the only viable solution. The Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules 2001 stresses the need for sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs by civic bodies, NGOs and individuals. Though 30,000 people die of rabies due to dog bites and about two millions opt for post-bite treatment every year in India, nothing substantial has been achieved.

Dr SOSHIL RATTAN, Former Asst. Director (AH), Amritsar

II

Justice Rajindar Sachar rightly wonders why the ardent dog lovers do not come forward to take the stray dogs to their home and provide them love and care instead of sermonising others to do so.

Not only stray dogs, even pet dogs are no less a nuisance. Their owners dutifully take them out, ostensibly for the morning stroll, but in practice to let them defecate in the street, invariably in front of the neighbours’ houses, littering the whole locality with filth and foul smell. In foreign countries, I understand, they carry bags to collect their dogs’ excreta for proper disposal. But then, this is India!

Wg-Cdr C.L. SEHGAL (retd), Jalandhar

Banks & farm loans

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has rightly advised banks to double their lending to agriculture sector in three years. However, banks are focussing on personal and other profit earning loans and ignoring agriculture. The State Bank of India is shying away from its responsibility. Despite the mandatory 18 per cent of its total credit to agriculture, SBI’s credit has slipped from 18 to 13 per cent.

To discourage farm advances in Punjab and Haryana, the SBI has ordered departmental and vigilance inquiries against its field officers and managers who had contributed over 20 per cent growth over the previous year in agriculture advances. These inquiries are often conducted at the behest of non-performing officers and due to small procedural lapses which would cause no loss to the bank.

The SBI’s rising non-performing assets may be the reason behind its different policies in theory and practice. But the fear psychosis among officers will put the bank to great disadvantage vis-a-vis its competitors. The SBI should reward honest officers and stop harassing them.

RAVI KHANNA, Chandigarh

Defending Sanskrit

Apropos of Dr Ram Lal Jassi’s letter (Nov 9), Sanskrit is the only language in the world with a perfect grammar. This has now been recognised in the world. Germany has set up a full-fledged Sanskrit University. Many multinational companies dealing in computer software are working on using Sanskrit as a programming language, having accepted its utility.

Dr Jassi maintains that, “Sanskrit is a language of oppression as all the black laws and deeds perpetrated on majority of people including women, Dalits etc., were codified in this language”. However, why blame the language if it is used for something wrong?

Devbhasha (Sanskrit) was not meant for Brahmins’ exclusive use. The Brahmins were not defined by caste, but by profession/qualifications that, in true Vedic times, were open for all. All professionals, in Vedic or modern times, have their own terminology, not generally understood by common people.

Language is a mode of communication. If the grammar is perfect, it facilitates effective communication. Needless to say, Sanskrit was, and is still is the best of all the languages of the world.

PUSHPESH KUMAR, Bathinda