M A I L B A G

What has Bush really achieved?

IT seems rather odd that Bush be named as the Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2004 (December 20). Many in the world may think of just three main achievements of the American President: One, launching an unprovoked and unlawful aggression against the people of Iraq; Two, supporting military and dictatorial regimes in countries like Pakistan, and; Three, following conservative religion-oriented brand of politics at home.

Being declared as the person of the year may or may not redound to Bush’s glory but it does reduce the credibility of Time magazine that needs to have international perspective and objectivity due to its wide circulation.

Wg Cdr S.C. KAPOOR (Retd), Noida

Crude power politics

This refers to articles “Quest for permanent seat” (Dec. 9) by Inder Malhotra and “A contentious report by UN panel (Dec. 14) by T.P. Sreenivasan who have highlighted burning issue of UN reforms and enlarging Security Council where entry of India as permanent member with veto power is long overdue. But recent proposals of UN panel on reforms in both the options have no provision for conferring veto power to new entrants as permanent members and this shows crude power politics at global level where great power like the US and China never relish other new members and particularly India to share the same privileged position.

Under the present conditions the only possible way out is that India must try to enter the Security Council as a permanent member even without veto and then fight from within for correcting distortions.

Prof. K.L.Batra, Yamunanagar

For the disabled

The UPA government must be commended for reserving two seats for the disabled in the Civil Services.

The disabled in India have been leading a wretched life. While all political parties talk of removing discrimination on caste and communal lines, the disabled face one of the worst forms of discrimination. In fact, India is one of the few countries in the world which does not have clear-cut policies for furthering the cause of the disabled.

SIDDHARTHA RAJ GUHA, Jabalpur

Cadre revision

The revision in the cadre structure of the Army Officers is appreciated. The nation has to constantly boost the morale of the Armed Forces.

There is a cadre in the Army known as ‘Short Service Commissioned Officers’. They stand completely neglected. They are also warriors and perform all the functions of the Army in the true spirit. Firstly, they do not get any pension whereas MPs and MLAs get pension on completion of tenure of five years. Secondly, their five-year service (and in some cases more) is not counted for the purpose of pension, seniority and there is no protection of their pay on re-employment in civil service. In fact in civil service they should be considered to have been employed from the date of starting their Short Service Commission Service.

ONKAR SINGH RIAR, USA

Introspection needed

I am writing in reference to the news of protest by UK Sikhs against the play “Behzti” scripted by Gurpreet Bhatti. First, it was Salman Rushdie and then Taslima Nasreen who earned the ire of mullahs for their freedom of expression. Their writings were labeled as blasphemous. Clergy completely forgot that the other name of truth is blasphemy.

And, now Gurpreet Kaur is under the gun. Is this what the founder of Sikhism preached? Is Sikhism so weak that a mortal author can insult it?

Let Sikhs do some introspection.

Ashok Malik, Santa Clara (USA)

No social decorum

In his writeup ‘The decline of decency’ (Dec. 18.), Harish Dhillon has very rightly, though latently, pointed out the lack of minimum protocol in our social behaviour. I consider it to be characteristic of Indianness to behave indifferently in matters of reciprocity of etiquette.

The British were pastmasters in social decorum. We aped the English in dress code only and not in social code.

Kamlesh Uppal, Retd Professor, Punjabi University, Patiala

Misleading ads Amitabh Bachchan is a fine actor and a good human being, and many people have great regard for him. But lately he has started appearing in cheap television ads which are sometimes dishonest and misleading for the innocent public. These days he is appearing in an advertisement of a pain-relieving cream. After reciting a few words about the importance of pain in life he advocates use of the cream saying that this cream removes pain in a jiffy (Dard mitaye chutki mein). Anyone who has suffered from pain in life or handles others’ pain knows that there is no cream in the world which can remove pain in a jiffy. By appearing in such an ad the Big B not only lowers his image but also makes himself, along with the manufacturer, liable for action under the magical remedies claim according to “The Drug and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. Dr A. LADALKHA, Amritsar