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

Armed with merit

Reference "Punjab youth out of breath for the forces" by Vijay Mohan (Sunday Tribune, March 31), there is shortage of about 13,058 officers in the armed forces. There are only a handful of armed forces institutions and these too have limited seats, so many candidates who clear the SSB are merited out. If a candidate has cleared the board, it means he has the potential to become an officer. Out of about 800 candidates, only 400-odd candidates are given a chance to join the forces. The authorities at the highest level should look into it.

Satnam Singh Parmar, mail

II

The decline in recruitment is primarily due to the lack of patriotic fervour among the youth. Tales of brave defence personnel should be included in the school and college curriculum. NCC should be made a compulsory subject and at least three-year service in the armed forces should be made imperative, as in the US. Punjab should raise the standard of education and curb the menace of drugs and alcohol so its youths can cope with the tough selection criteria.

Harmohit Singh, Hoshiarpur

Real freedom

As an emerging force, BRICS has thrown up questions of great relevance. Raj Chengappa's article, "When will South Africa be truly free?" (Ground Zero, March 31) talks of true freedom, which is applicable to all BRICS nations. True freedom must be put on a higher pedestal than mere political freedom. Peace, development and prosperity, coupled with international exposure, go a long way in broadening the outlook of people and achieving freedom as it should be.

Jagvinder Singh Brar, Patiala

Worth the price

To bring normalcy in states afflicted with terrorism of any kind, we need a strategic policy of surrender which is justified not only on social and moral grounds, but also has economic rationale ("The price for peace in the Northeast" by Ajay Banerjee; March 31). There is direct correlation between peace and performance of economy at all levels of operation. Peaceful societies ensure intra-generation and inter-generation equity with high level of per capita income.

Dr MM Goel, Kurukshetra

The rising

I endorse the views of AB Bardhan ("Third Front could prove more than a ghost" (Sunday Tribune, March 31). Since the BJP and Congress are busy playing to the gallery, the concept of the third front seems like a myth. These parties are not pleased with the existence of regional parties that have been in power in various states for decades. If regional parties with a strong mass base among farmers and agriculture workers join the Left, there is a possibility of the front emerging as a powerful political group.

Dr Raj Bahadur Yadav, Fatehabad

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