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

Time to hold talks with Maoists

Apropos your editorial 'Maoist challenge' (May 28), the dastardly attack by Maoist guerrillas on Congress partymen is shocking and needs to be condemned by all. This is perhaps the biggest attack in the central Indian state since April 6, 2010, when about 75 CRPF and one state police personnel were killed in the Mukrana forests of Dantewada district. The attack exposes the failure of the intelligence agencies as well as the failure of the state government to provide adequate security to the Parivartan Yatra launched by the Congress to mobilise support in the run-up to the Assembly elections later this year.

The kidnapping and killing of innocent souls by Maoists has become a regular feature there. Neither the state government nor the Centre can afford to ignore serious ramifications of the incident. The attack raises so many questions: Why did our politicians fail to reach out to the tribal populace of the affected areas? Why did the political and civil administrations fail to fulfill their socio-economic interests of these people? How were the Maoists able to establish "international links" to fight the Indian state? Why have the Centre and state governments, till today, failed to evolve a joint strategy to fight the Maoists?

The major reason of their revolt is that they have, over the decades, been ignored and deprived of job opportunities, food, education, the fruits of development, etc, hence these bloodbaths. The government should hold talks with them.

HARISH MONGA DIDO, Gurgaon

Spare tribal areas

The root cause of the menace of Red terror is the exploitation of poor tribal people as well as their natural resources. The natural resources and wealth are being looted by vested interests under the patronage of corrupt politicians, administrators, police officials, etc and these tribal folks get little share from this “booty”.

On the other hand, tribal areas are receding by the day as these are being sold to property dealers. If unnecessary encroachments on their areas are not checked, it will compound the problem. Where will they go? Their survival is in peril. Still, it is totally wrong to take the gun in place of holding talks with the government.

VED PRAKASH CHOPRA,  Ludhiana

Time to act

The Defence Minister's contention that the Army won't be deployed to counter the Maoist menace shows that the government is not aware of the gravity of the situation. The naxals, equipped with sophisticated weapons and trained in guerrilla tactics, could only be tackled by the Army. A joint operation involving the Army and para-military forces appears to be the only viable option to counter the increasing attacks of the Red brigade. If the Army could be called in to tackle insurgents' activities in J&K, why cannot we take its help there? It is high time the government assessed the situation and took a decisive action in the national interest.

RAVINDER SINGH, Jalandhar

School education

In his write-up 'Think before fiddling with course structure' (May 28), VS Chaudhri has rightly concluded that the outcome of various experiments made with school education from time to time has created only confusion for teachers as well as students. Let us honestly admit that after 65 years of Independence, we have failed to evolve an ideal model for the purpose. The Ministry of Human Resource and Development must take concrete steps to make school education simpler and practicable.

DR VK ANAND, Patiala

No self-reliance

One is pained to know that India will import technology for a bullet train from Japan. After 65 years of Independence, with so much money having been spent on IITs and there being one engineering college in almost every city, we are still importing technology.

Being a proud Indian and a big fan of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, I feel ashamed.

DR BB SHARMA, Jalandhar

Saving crumbling family Hats off to The Tribune for its thought-provoking editorial 'The crumbling family' (May 23). The western culture has, over the years, eroded the Indian values. Parents have also failed to instill our culture, traditions and the importance of family relationships into their children. As a result, the joint family system has almost vanished from the Indian society. Children are now more interested in the properties of their parents. They don't like their parents' interference in their matters. And most of these put up separately. I fully endorse your views that the law and justice systems often fail to address the problems. Elderly parents seldom resort to legal recourse because of social barriers and their soft attitude towards children. So, parents and children must understand that it is for their betterment to show regards and consideration for each other and lead a peaceful life together. VIJAY THAKUR, Shimla