Rotary role in polio

India has been recently declared as polio free country by the WHO. The unprecedented programme to eradicate the polio virus from the country was taken up by the central and state governments supported by several national and international agencies such as Rotary International, UNICEF, WHO, the CDC and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

India is now free of polio, with no new cases in the past three years.

The country is celebrating, but what is glaringly absent is any mention of Rotary International’s ‘Polio Plus’ campaign started in 1984 to eradicate polio. Since then, over one million rotarians have contributed more than $1.2 billion to the task, much of which has been matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Salil Bali, Chandigarh

No Kamraj-Indira link

The write-up by Lt-General Depinder Singh on Sam Manekshaw (“Sam Manekshaw: An icon of Indian Army”, April 3) contains an erroneous and misleading story about the Kamraj Plan which is attributed to Indira Gandhi. The Kamraj Plan was authored by the then Congress President K. Kamraj Nador and executed during the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1963 in the aftermath of India’s military debacle in the then NEFA (now Arunachal Pradesh) and Ladakh in October-November 1962 at the hands of China. Indira Gandhi was nowhere in the picture then: neither holding any position in the government nor in the party.

Such factually incorrect information misleads the impressionable minds of the younger generation which is keen to know about history.

Sant Lal Kashyap, Rampur Bushahr

Poll ink & fraud

The election ink, electoral stain or phosphoric ink is a semi-permanent ink or dye that is applied to the forefinger (usually) of voters during elections in order to prevent electoral fraud such as double voting. It is an effective method for countries where identification documents for citizens are not always standardised or institutionalised. Election stain typically stays on the skin for 72-96 hours, lasting 2 to 4 weeks on the fingernail and cuticle area. A media house has shown how ink removers are being sold in bulk to do corrupt practices such as voting multiple times.

Allegations of electoral frauds worldwide regarding the use of ink removers are well known. In the Afghan presidential elections 2004, the officials had used the more efficient marker pen option.

Sabotaging the finger-marking process could cast a doubt on the legitimacy of the vote and the democracy. The Election Commission of India must look into the matter.

AJAY JAGGA, Chandigarh

Vote on merit

People are eagerly waiting to cast their votes. The candidates and parties are striving hard to win over the voters. It is not easy to decide whom to vote for. I think the personality gets an edge over the party because it is the individual on whom we can depend more. Many people are leaving their parties and either contesting independently or on some other party ticket. We have to assess whether the individual has shifted the party for the cause of his constituency or only to grab power. Let us not be moved by any wave, emotions, caste or creed and decide on the merit of the candidate.

J M Behl, Jammu

OROP delay deliberate

Once again, the politicians and bureaucrats have stabbed us on our backs. With no official notification on OROP, how are we supposed to believe them? Apparently, the delay is deliberate. The UPA government held it back as it knew the model code of conduct would come into effect and the implementation of OROP postponed.

Now the onus is on the new government, which means further delay. This is the government special ‘Jai Jawan’ for the defence forces veterans!

Col Nirmal Singh, (Retd) Panchkula

Curb ragging

We have failed to curb the evil of ragging in educational institutions. The authorities take only half-hearted measures, such as the imposition of fine on or temporary suspension of the accused. As an experienced teacher, I think the solution lies in making ragging a cognisable offence. The punishment may include the expulsion of the accused from the institution for at least two years. The case should be decided within a month of the offence having been committed. Police force should be stationed in the institution for some time to arrest the culprits. The culprit should be publicly humiliated by blackening his face and parading him in the institution.