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Dismiss uncivil servants

RK Raghwan in his article “Uncivil Services: Protecting young IAS and IPS officers” (May 25, 2008 Oped Page) has made a correct analysis of the present status of civil servants in the country. I differ with Raghwan and would like to say that we need brilliant as well as honest civil servants who care for the underprivileged.

A civil servant should be accessible to the common man and the poor. He/she should make sure that his every action benefits the poor. He/she should ensure efficient and transparent utilisation of every single penny meant for the welfare and uplift of the poor.

But it is too much to be expected from a young person who has been born and brought up in a different kind of environment than what he/she has chosen to serve. It is the dream of power and pelf, which lure more than 3.5 lakh youth to compete for Civil Services every year, but only a few are successful.

Even the three-stage selection procedure has not been able to produce honest officers, who remain true to the oath that they take at the time of joining. The only remedy lies in the fact that corrupt senior as well as young IAS and IPS officers should be summarily dismissed as soon as their corrupt actions are detected. It will be a lesson for others and morale-booster for the honest as well.

During training they should be taught to lead a tough life. The honest should be provided immunity from the corrupt politicians and seniors in the matter of postings and transfers. Such tough measures and protection from the possible fallout of politicians and seniors can only change the scene.

PURAN SINGH, Nilokheri

Correction

In “Questions that puzzle me” (May 10, 2008), Khushwant Singh says that as per the Christian Calendar history is divided into B.C. and A.D. B.C means before the birth of Christ and A.D. after the demise. While, it is correct to say that the word B.C. is used for number of years before the birth of Christ but the word A.D. is short for Latin “Anno Domni” which means in the years of our Lord, which are used with dates after the birth of Christ. So A.D. does not stand for after the demise.

GURCHARAN SINGH SHAHEED, Goniana Mandi

Matter of taste

Khushwant Singh’s article “In defence of meat-eaters” (Saturday Extra, May 31) refers to the established fact that meat-eaters are bigger built and sturdier than vegetarians and they manage to live longer. But it is also a proven fact that most of the meat-eaters find it difficult to see the killing of animals. Actually, after seeing the animals being killed many have turned vegetarians.

As a matter of fact, vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism is a matter of taste. One should be free to eat whatever he/she likes. Vegetarians and non-vegetarians are part and parcel of society and are like two sides of the same coin. One should not put down a person because of his choice of food.

SUBHASH C. TANEJA, Rohtak

II

In his piece “In defence to meat-eaters” Khuswant Singh has presented the rosy side of being non-vegetarian, but I would like to bring some facts to the fore. There is a vast difference between the metabolism of human beings and the meat-eating animals. The carnivorous animals have acidic body constitution while human beings have an alkaline body. The intestines of meat-eating animals three times the length of their bodies, however, the intestinal tract of human beings is 12 times. So the waste of meat remains longer in a human body than in that of an animal which causes many diseases. Meat-eaters usually have constipation problem. Moreover it is crime against Nature to kill innocent animals for food.

DEV RAJ, Dharampur

Yes, we need POTA

“Do we need POTA?” by M.G. Devasayhayam (June 1) is an egregiously disgusting potboiler replete with a plethora of specious arguments and soul-searing sophistry.

Of course, it is “a draconian law and against human rights” as all penal laws, naturally, are and must be so.

The anti-national goons who remorselessly slay innocent people, including babies, women and the aged, deserve no such right as they are humans only in looks. In reality they are worse than ferocious beasts. Could there be any argument as fallacious and hollow as that since blasts occurred when POTA was in existence so the law is useless? By this argument the Indian Panel Code and all other punitive measures should be scrapped because in spite of these incidents of crime keep happening.

J.S. Verma and F.S. Nariman are, no doubt, legal luminaries but they are not the only ones in the country. There are many others who think that POTA is useful.

The worthy writer is pitiably in need of the knowledge that “liberty” of crores of innocent people is more important than that of a few terrorists.

At present thanks to the “secularism” terrorism is a proxy political weapon used to get licence for the Afzal Begs to go scot-free despite their nefarious misdeeds and conviction. It is the misfortune of the country that it is a soft state for the anti-national cannibals because of the “secularism” and votaries of the criminals.

CHAMAN LAL KORPAL, Amritsar