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

People want bold action

The editorial “Quota conundrum” (Sept. 15) has rightly summed up that the political leadership will have to rise above caste politics. But where are the leaders? A leader is a person who has a vision and should be able to pursue even unpopular causes, which would be beneficial to the country, community and society.

We had such examples in Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Mahatma Gandhi, who championed the causes, which were unpopular at that time. They had the courage of conviction and pursued their dreams and mobilised public opinion in favour of their cherished dreams.

The present-day leaders, who are basically self-seekers, cannot see beyond their nose and vote banks and care two hoots about the country’s progress. All that matters to them is more perks and facilities. We had hoped that Dr Manmohan Singh will act boldly and get rid of dishonest, non-performing and truant ministers.

May be in this process his government might lose majority in the Lok Sabha, but after the mid-term polls the Congress could return with a thumping majority. The public is fed up with vote-bank politics and wants bold action from the government.

Dr O N BHARGAVA, Panchkula

Indian traits

Sherry Sabbarwal in his article “Traits that hold us back” (Aug 31) has written that India has lagged behind due to lack of discipline, commitment and civility. I do agree with the writer’s views. I want to say that this applies not only to an average Indian but also to ministers. Invariably, politicians arrive late for public functions. Indeed, a nation which has no discipline cannot develop.

LABH SINGH DEOL, Malerkotla

Love for dictionary

Roopinder Singh’s middle “Get the dictionary” (Sept 3), on plaudits and pleasures of consulting a dictionary, made an interesting read. I am reminded of how an old student of my father narrated an incident when he called on us some years back. My father reportedly thundered during the course of a lecture in the classroom¾“If you want to improve your English, fall in love… fall in love with a standard English dictionary. For polishing English speaking and pronunciation, I would like to say tune in to BBC news bulletins.

L. BHARDWAJ, Hoshiarpur

Kashmir imbroglio

Lt-Col Jiwan Sharotri (retd) in his letter “Plebiscite in Kashmir” (Sept 7) has drawn the attention of the authorities concerned to a significant clause of the UN resolution. Men like Syed Ali Geelani either have never read the verdict of the UN properly or else they are wilfully befooling the semi-literate and simple people of the valley by concealing or suppressing this essential pre-condition.

Before entering into a dialogue with the separatist leader, Mr Geelani should be asked to express his comments on this pre-requisite. Otherwise all talks would be futile. Besides, all persons ousted from Kashmir (including Gilgit/Baltistan) should be rehabilitated to restore the status quo as on August 15, 1947. The condition is crucial and the Home Ministry must take proper cognisance of this. It is strange how this condition has constantly escaped the notice of the authorities dealing with the problem of Kashmir.

Dr H S SINHA, Kurukshetra

Congested Delhi

Delhi has a population of more than 1.5 crore where congestion and pollution have risen in alarming proportion. The acute housing crisis and haphazard growth of slums and squatter settlements have created a life of misery for the inhabitants of Delhi.

The dream of making Delhi a world-class city has remained on paper. Due to wrong planning for the Commonwealth Games, Delhi has witnessed massive digging in the name of rebuilding and beautification. One wonders why all activities should be concentrated in Delhi alone.

GOPAL BHARGAVA, Delhi

Neglecting Jalandhar

It is indeed shocking that Jalandhar has been neglected (news report, “ Crores spent on CWG, but Jalandhar industry gets nothing”, Sept 6). Crores of rupees are being spent on the sports extravaganza and sports products worth crores of rupees are being imported from foreign countries.

Jalandhar is known for its sports products in the world. Its products have been in great demand and it even got orders in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup. Ignoring the sports industry of Jalandhar is unfair.

J B S NANDA, Ludhiana

Store food grains properly
Nirmal Sandhu’s article “The grain drain” (Sept 13) was enlightening and informative. He seems to have done a lot of homework to apprise the readers of the past and the present performance of the Food Ministry with regard to the storage and distribution of food grains.

He has rightly pointed out that the Prime Minister’s intervention has sidetracked the issue of fixing responsibility for the criminal neglect in the storage and disposal of food grains. The sloth and insensitivity of the government is inexcusable. It must ensure that there will be no further damage to food grains.
It is disappointing that year after year food grains continue to rot. Mr Sandhu has revealed that 7.5 lakh tonnes of damaged wheat was disposed of as feed for animals which smacks of utter disregard for the health of livestock.
It amounts to infliction of cruelty to animals as improperly stored and damaged wheat is contaminated with aflatoxins which is highly injurious to animals. It is time the government came out of its slumber to provide effective and sufficient infrastructure to take care of food grains.
Dr SOSHIL RATTAN, Amritsar