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

‘Inspector raj’ ruining govt institutions

The Jalandhar tragedy could have been averted had the authorities responsible for granting approval for running the factory observed safety norms and not indulged in criminal violation of rules. Why do such tragedies keep happening? Why do inspectors responsible for enforcing rules and making inspections approve ill-managed projects? Degradation of moral values with no sense of responsibility makes one ignore rules to make easy money. Whichever government department we may pick randomly - traffic, police, forest, revenue, health, environment - the higher-ups indulge in corrupt practices or offer favours to the influential to let the rules get violated. Sermons and speeches by religious gurus and political leaders don’t really bring out any perceptible change in the society and the system.

ARUN JANDIAL, Jammu

II

Whether it is the fire cauldron in Calcutta, school van mishap in Ambala or collapse of the blanket factory building in Jalandhar, we get worried and remain vigilant for a few days. We forget the episode after counting the lapses on the part of the respective government. The affected families, however, are never able to get over the tragedy that takes away their loved ones. It is rightly mentioned in the editorial “Criminal collapse” (April 18) that junior officials do not even dare to enter the premises of influential businessmen. Then how will they point out the lapses. Plans, inspections, approvals and safety checks are cleared behind closed doors, without even knowing the location of the factory sometimes. There would hardly be any government department where system and procedures are followed honestly. It is the common masses who bear the brunt of the government’s lackadaisical approach.

K K Chawla, Kurukshetra

III

The Jalandhar mishap is a clear case of intentional negligence in criminal connivance between the factory management and the government officials. The factory owner has been arrested but along with him the government officials who allowed the factory owner to violate norms should also be put in the dock. They should be held equally responsible for the tragedy. This should also act as a wake-up call for government officials as well as industrialists across the nation to pull up their socks to ensure that all technical requirements are completed and all necessary clearances are obtained to keep man-made tragedies at bay.

AK SHARMA, Chandigarh

IV

It is painful and tragic to learn that most of the accident victims are helpless poor migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The powerful businessmen with high-profile political connections find it easy to exploit migrant workers because they do not have any social support in alien surroundings. The local people, who rushed to the site of the collapsed building for rescue work, must be appreciated for lending a helping hand.

Dr RAJ BAHADUR YADAV, Fatehabad

All-class classrooms

Rajesh Gill in his article “Widening ‘class’ inequality” (April 17) has rightly emphasised that the experience of an all-class classroom makes a student sensitive to others. The Education Commission (1964-66) started its report with these lines: ‘The destiny of India is being shaped in her classrooms’.

The present scenario of education is reflective of widening chasm between the haves and have-nots. Government schools are being stuffed with children from poor section of the society, whereas the middle class families try to admit their children to the so-called ‘good’ schools even though at a much higher cost. The teachers and the administration should collaborate with mutual trust, to improve the quality of education so that citizens feel reasonably attracted to government schools.

There is a government school near Patiala, where teachers put in extra efforts to get their students admitted to professional institutes. They became a source of envy for private schools and local politicians. Challenges can be turned into opportunity through administrative measures.

Dr S. KUMAR, Panchkula

Transmigration of souls The Bhagwad Gita talks about transmigration of souls. There have been many cases where small children have revealed their previous births and are able to recognise their parents and home of the previous birth. Such examples are rare but they do indicate transmigration of soul. Dr Weiss, referred to by Pritam Bhuller in his middle ‘Losing a life partner’ (April 14), gives full account of a girl (his patient) speaking about her previous births starting from 3500 BC through the process of hypnotism. But the learned doctor deliberately or otherwise did not ask her to speak about her birth preceding the present life so that facts could be verified. The concept of transmigration of soul cannot be denied but it also does not stand the test of rationality. The phenomenon of transmigration of soul can neither be accepted nor rejected and will continue to delude people in future. RAM NIWAS MALIK, Gurgaon