M A I L B A G

Unfair advice to the judiciary

THE article (Oct 9) by Mr J.L. Gupta, a former Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, is pungent and harsh. He coaxes the judiciary of the country not to be too generous in dealing with a section of the citizens. It is an unfair proposition. As an average citizen, I have always understood that the judiciary of our country judiciously decides cases on merit and not on personal likes and dislikes of issues or persons.

There are many issues which negatively affect the economy and harm the nation, but Mr Gupta has indulged in breast-beating on only one issue — to strike work is bad and this indisciplined lot is to be disciplined.

His panacea is that those who strike work for a few hours or a day be thrown out of job and a new set of recruits be enrolled. In turn when these people also strike work some others should come. But then total anarchy will follow. These things are not so simple. To handle human beings we need a very humble and judicious approach. High-handed means adopted to tackle problems many times lead to a nasty situation as we have seen recently in the happenings at Gurgaon.

Prof F.C. BADHWAR, Chandigarh

Implications of RTI Act

I read with interest the interview with Mr. Wajahat Habibullah, India’s first Chief Information Commissioner, “We want people to use RTI Act” (The Sunday Tribune, October 16). To implement the Right to Information Act efficiently, there is need to make people understand its implications for them. This requires a change in the mindset of the people regarding the officialdom at all levels in all the organisations of the country.

It needs to be understood by one and all that the implementation of the RTI Act will be beneficial for the development of the country. It will ensure efficiency in the government which should be maintained at all costs.

All this requires smart administration ensuring simplicity, morality,  accountability, responsibility and transparency — the most crucial aspects of good governance.

Mayank Goel, Kurukshetra

Patchwork on HP roads Himachal is not considered a rich state. It has a very wide network of roads and, truly speaking, it is difficult to maintain them. Though there are some good roads criss-crossing the state, some roads still showcase “patchwork” done, giving an impression that Himachal believes in “a stitch in time saves nine”. Some intelligent officers in the PWD must have seen some kind of patchwork in their childhood as I did. Punjab has always been considered a rich state with a good network of roads. The Chandigarh-Dharamsala road via Anandpur Sahib is one route which is extensively used by tourists going by road to Himachal. But during the last three years whenever I happened to cross through Bharatgarh, Kiratpur Sahib, Anandpur Sahib and Nangal I always felt that PWD officials in Punjab don’t understand the meaning of “a stitch in time saves nine”. They are not aware of the very basics of the “patchwork” concept. I am sure they will like to learn a lesson from Himachal and showcase their state as rich and try to restore the lost glory. Himachalis will be pleased to organise some workshops on “patchwork”. Dr V K SHARMA, Lawrence School, Sanawar (Solan)

Female population

It is a matter of grave concern that female population in India is falling steeply. But looking from another angle, when girls are is short supply their importance goes up, as reported in the Press that in some cases dowry is being offered by the groom’s parents and marriages are being held outside their own caste.

Also, as one population theory has it that an increase in the number of the people has a direct link with female population. So, the increase in the population shall have some check on it!

In any case, women are no longer orthodox-type and have proved that they are equal to men — even superior in many cases. So, to balance the sex ratio, how about more incentives for an employee who has a single girl child?

Mahesh Kumar, New Delhi

Losing childhood

With the changing time and thinking of society, a child unfortunately does not enjoy benefits of childhood! There is a lot of pressure for securing high marks, as otherwise admission to a desired college or vocational institution is denied. As a result, boys and girls studying in schools look like an adult, even in behaviour. Children are reaching the stage of puberty at an early age.

It is a fact that girls mature faster than boys — earlier it was at 16 years for girls and 18 years for boys. Now the real maturity age is 14 years for girls and 16 years for boys. This proves that boys and girls need not wait till 18 years to be called adults.

Perhaps, this is the real reason for a recent decision of a court, which held that a girl can be married off at the age of 15 years. (However, I do not support it as in my view the right age for marriage for a girl is 18 only and for a boy 21 years) .The only advantage of an early marriage is that the girl easily adjusts to the new environment of her husband’s family.

M. Kapasi, New Delhi