L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Our cops need training to fight terror

Terrorist attacks in the country have intensified. In most cases, culprits manage to get away and in a few cases when they are nabbed it takes anything between three and 10 years to convict them because of our outdated systems of investigation and legal procedures. If harsher laws are proposed, they are rejected outright by the government as they affect the ruling party’s vote banks.

There are also calls for sacking the Union Home Minister. He never ever asked for this job. So why blame him? You do not have the likes of Sardar Patel any more. Sacking police and intelligence agencies’ chiefs also won’t help.

The answer, therefore, is to get the personnel of these organisations trained in countries like Israel and the UK where they have a proven record of preventing terrorist activities and bringing the culprits to book. The cost of training or employing foreign experts will be much less than what we spend on providing Z Plus security to our leaders and their kith and kin!

In fine, we have to step up vigilance. Known anti-national outfits must not only be banned but eradicated ruthlessly and those convicted of hideous activities such as killing of innocents as in the blasts in New Delhi and Agartala must be shot or hanged in public places. Innocent people, too, have the right to live in peace.

K.S. KOHLI, Gurgaon

II

Terrorism and peace cannot go together. For lasting peace on both sides of the divide, Pakistan must end direct or indirect support to terrorists. The need of the hour is to combat terrorism at any cost. Enough is enough.

For lasting peace, Pakistan must dismantle all the terrorist training camps on its soil. It should show results in tackling terrorism and not just raise slogans for ending the same.

Pakistan must understand that terrorists could also become a Frankenstein’s monster. Reports of cross-border infiltration prove that one cannot take Pakistan for granted.

GURDERSHAN SINGH, Chandigarh

New postal logo a gimmick The launch of the new postal logo was a publicity gimmick. If by sheer change in logo, the Department of Post will become more vibrant, as claimed by the minister, all other departments should change the logos by roping in an ad agency and spending huge money. This is ridiculous. In fact, logos should not be changed at all. BHEL and other successful business houses have their age-old logos. An airliner tried to do that but had to reverse its decision. Postal services are in a shambles today. A letter takes 5-6 days to reach the addressee in the same town! It is okay to diversify into new services and products, but surely its core area, namely, the postal dak, must not be relegated to the background as is the case now. People want efficient service and are not just bothered about the logo. C.K. SARDANA, Bhopal

Firmness needed

G. Parthasarathy’s article, “Separation needs firmness” (Sept 4) was well argued. Separatism has been spawning in the country because the political will to curb it is lacking. The special status guaranteed to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution is the chief morale booster for the elements that are bent on further mutilating their motherland, though it serves ably the sinister political designs of the demagogues and the rabble-rousers.

A government that has done away with POTA is surely not sincere in extirpating separatism from the country. If the ogre of separatism is to be really eradicated, India must emulate the precedent set by Abraham Lincoln.

Vote-banks may be created on fiscal policies not by fanning communalism albeit under the cover of “secularism”. Separatism, like all other evils, can be nipped only by ruthless force.

CHAMAN LAL KORPAL, Amritsar

Rectify the anomaly

The Sixth Central Pay Commission has changed the date of annual increment of the 55-lakh Central Government employees. This is immature. Now, there shall be a uniform date of increment i.e. July 1 of every year. An employee completing six months or above will be eligible for increment. The first increment shall be granted on July 1, 2006. This change has been introduced to remove the anomalies with juniors. However, in the process, the Pay Commission has created more anomalies. While some will get the annual increment after six months, others don’t get it even after completing a full year of service in the revised structure. The employees whose date of increment was from February to June would get their annual increments late by 1-5 months. Worse, this isn’t a one-time loss, but recurring loss every year.

Neither the Pay Commission nor the government has assessed the impact of the change. Five-month loss is not a small amount for an employee. Those retiring on June 30 or earlier will be hard hit. The government should rectify this anomaly on priority.

AMARNATH SHARMA, Nangal Township