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Kairon’s foresight unmatched

Former Chief Minister of Punjab Partap Singh Kairon initiated state-sponsored consolidation of land. This single masterstroke uplifted the agrarian society and gave a boost to farm produce. Rural electrification was another field where his efforts yielded desired results. The OPED article ‘How Kairon changed face of Punjab’ (February 6) has thrown ample light on the contribution of S. Partap Singh Kairon in the development of Punjab.Punjab Agriculture University and PGI both are results of Kairon’s foresightedness.

Partap Singh Kairon was very well-educated. He did his masters in political science from University of Michigan, United States and Masters in Economics from University of California at Berkley. Apart from Servapalli Dr Radhakrishanan and Narasimha Rao, no other politician in India matches Kairon as far as educational qualification is concerned. He was a man who, having seen progress and prosperity in America wanted to take his state on the same level.

There is no doubt he was an able administrator and bureaucrats both feared as well as admired him. He was quick in taking decisions unlike our present day rulers He was tough on agitations and took harsh and strict decisions, if necessary for the betterment of the people and the state.

There is no doubt that Punjab never got any Chief Minister who could match his skills in able administration. He was a man who never used props of language, religion or caste to further his political career.

In the line of duty he made many enemies. Threats to his life were real and he was warned about it. Kairon stood his ground and did not compromise. Eventually he was assassinated in broad daylight when he was returning from Delhi and till date nobody knows the exact cause behind this most foul murder.

ARUN HASTIR, Babehali

S C CHABBA, Panchkula

Iconic legend

Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, founder of the Tribune group of publications, is indeed a living legend of the 21st century. Amidst hardships, financial constraint and extreme paucity of resources during the British regime, he managed to work for the upliftment of society.

His ultimate quest for knowledge and love for philosophy and religion led him to establish Punjab University, Lahore; Khalsa College, Amritsar, and Chief Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar.

Despite being orphaned by destiny at a tender age, he was blessed with wisdom and foresight. He remained a crusader for women empowerment and human rights. He unleashed an era of freelance journalism inviting contributions in the form of stories, fiction, poetry, literature and dramatics. He ignited the hidden talent of youth by encouraging them towards progressive writing.

The National Council of Education, Research and Training (NCERT), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the state boards should include a chapter on the life of S. Dyal Singh Majithia in the history textbooks of students. The film makers can make a documentary on the life of this immortal soul.

RADHA SAINI, Mohali

Cricket ground

Annandale ground is an asset to the people of Shimla. It is a clean and green ground and should not be allowed to be made dirty. The Army has done a good job by refusing it to be used as a cricket stadium as mentioned in the news report ‘Won’t part with Annandale ground for cricket stadium’.

ICC has huge amount of easy earned money and is trying to suppress all other games by money power. The hype around cricket is due to excessive publicity it gets through the media. Everybody is of the view that other games should get coverage in television and radio instead of the lazy man’s game. I think the only aim of the government is to earn money. Cricket is played by less than 20 countries whereas other games are played by more than 200 countries. Nobody is against the game if it remains a game and is not converted to dirty business.

ARJUN SINGH CHHETRI, Arki (HP)

Road siege

Road blockades by any political organisation, social organisation, farmers, individuals or any other institution should be condemned. Road blockades are a great public nuisance and causes great inconvenience to the public. The general public is made to suffer unnecessarily. There might be ailing patients, old people, and small children waiting in the long queues. New and stricter laws should be framed by the government to check this growing menace.

SANJAY CHAWLA, Amritsar

Outstanding player

The exclusion of former Indian skipper Rajpal Singh from India men’s hockey team for the Olympic qualifiers is very sad. We were expecting that he would again lead the Indian team. He is one of the most outstanding hockey players at present. India’s position at the international level is already very bad. I do not think Indian Hockey coach Michael Nobbs will do anything outstanding for the team.

PRITPAL SINGH, Patiala

More for cancer A great batsman of the Indian cricket team and Man of the Tournament in 2011 World Cup is suffering from mild curable cancer. We feel sad to hear the news of Yuvraj’s ailment and wish for his speedy recovery. His ailment has brought to light our country’s zero concern for chronic diseases like cancer. People living in villages, like the Malwa belt of Punjab, have many cancer patients. Our cricketers have enough money with which they can collectively open cancer hospitals in our country to serve the poor. KAMALJIT MALWA, Mansa