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

Act fast, help Khalsa

On November 14, Bhai Gurbaksh Singh Ji Khalsa started his fast for the cause of the release of Sikh prisoners who have completed their jail term. His fast has entered the 39th day, but there is no response from the government. Is it not inhuman on the part of government? A man has not tasted even a sip of water for the sake of humanity. What will Bhai Gurbaksh Singh get from this fast personally? In today's world, very few people can sacrifice their life for other people. The government must step in before it’s too late.

Anmoljot Singh, Samrala

Why quota for Jats?

The decision of the Union Government to include the Jat community in the category of backward castes defies logic and just adds to the bunch of blunders made by the Congress-led UPA. In Haryana, the Jats are an affluent community, both socially and politically.

In Haryana, the Congress government has already given reservation to Jats by creating a special category, thus raising the reservation to 70% against the ceiling of 50%, leaving just 30% for the unreserved category. This is not only grave injustice to the non-reserved castes, but also a violation of the reservation code. It is painful that the media has not taken up this matter.

Jai Prakash Gupta, Ambala cantt

Outlaw reservation

Reservation should be outlawed in egalitarian country like India. All citizens should be on the same plane and equal rights should be given to them. If all are equal, only gruelling workers will be preferred. Reservation is just a divide and rule policy which should be rooted out. In other nations, a proficient person is preferred and that’s the reason of their development.

Neha Bajwa, Karnal

Bias against poor Jatts

Punjab has the highest number of Jatts, yet they are not considered for inclusion in the OBC list. Is this not discrimination? Not all Jatts are rich like the Badals. Why are they not considering the future of the poor Jatts?

Baldev Singh, Via email

PCS exam fee high

The fee structure of the application forms for the Punjab Civil Services exam 2013 is elitist. The fee is Rs 3,000 for the prelims exam this time, up from Rs 2,000 the last time and Rs 1,500 in 2009. In Haryana, the fee is Rs 1,000 only while the UPSC charges only Rs 80 for the whole examination process. The Punjab government spends crores of rupees on subsidies, kabaddi and sangat darshans. No one thinks twice before looting the unemployed youth.

Dr Hemant a Garg, Chandigarh

Review fee hike

What double standards of the Punjab government! On the one hand, the government is striving to achieve the goal of inclusive growth in the five-year plans and on the other hand, the state government is making the growth exclusive by allowing only the elite class to participate in the upcoming PPSC exam 2013. The fees for the general category this year is Rs 3,000 and for the Scheduled Caste category Rs 1,175. Last year, it was Rs 1,500 for the general category and Rs 375 for Scheduled Castes. The huge hike in the fee will result in the exclusion of the masses from the competition. The government should charge only a nominal fee.

Prabhjot Kaur, Ludhiana

Make HTET for life

The rule regarding the validity of the Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test (HTET) for five years only has left the unemployed youth in the lurch and they are helpless and have no option but to bear the order of the so-called policy makers whose only purpose is merely to harass the educated youth. Either the validity of the HTET must be for life or the candidates who have passed the test must be provided with proper jobs within the timeframe of five years. The policymakers must channelise the energy of the youth in the right way by providing them with proper jobs instead of leaving them at the mercy of a policy that is chaotic for them as they are already suffering from unemployment.

Sundeep Aryan, via email

Letters to the Editor, typed in double space, should not exceed the 200-word limit. These should be cogently written and can be sent by e-mail to: Letters@tribuneindia.com