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LETTERS
Status Quo
Your story on the "commendable work"
being done by the Gujarat Government came as a shock ("Turning a
Calamity into an Opportunity", September 3). It seems your reporter
did not visit Gujarat, let alone Kutch, and even if he did, he probably
spoke only to those in power and not the hapless victims of the quake.
The victims are still running from pillar to post for succour and aid.
The government has failed miserably in providing that most fundamental
necessity: a shelter.
—B.G. Varghese, Ahmedabad
This was an advertisement feature and not
an India Today report.
—Editor
Rank Inefficiency
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Curriculum Of The Babus
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In her column, Tavleen
Singh tries to deflect the blame from our disastrous present Government
("Missing the Point", September 3). She tries to pin the
blame on the Congress by saying that in the 40 years that it ruled
us we had an education system that was designed to turn India into
a nation of clerks. Is she not aware that our country produces the
highest number of competent engineers, as also a large number of
other professionals? And what about herself? Was she educated abroad
or does she think she hasn't risen above the level of a clerk considering
that she was a product of the same system she talks of so contemptuously?
—C. Sunita Reddy, Hyderabad
I couldn't agree more with Tavleen Singh. Both
A.B. Vajpayee and Sonia Gandhi need to understand that what we teach
is more important than how we teach it. The most important point
of quality of education is sidelined by both the BJP and the Congress:
where is our education system headed? As an instrument of change
and development, the education system in India must be depoliticised
and modernised.
— Aashish Opal, Chandigarh
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I am not surprised at the poor performance and
bad results of the tourism minister ("Ministries of Inaction",
August 27). While foreigners find the food here to be cheap, entrance
fees to monuments are very high. It is my third visit to India and I appreciate
the kindness of the people but I must say that visiting India is quite
a financial burden for a family man as far as monuments are concerned.
Nicolas Geiger, France
Your analysis of the ministry of Tourism portrays
a sad picture for a remarkable country. After spending a month here on
holiday, I am still surprised by the government legislation that makes
the tourist's life unpleasant, difficult and expensive. The US$20 Taj
Mahal entrance fee is outrageous but would not be so bad if one could
guarantee that it would be spent on maintenance of the building or the
surrounding area. Instead, I suspect that it will form part of a government
official's holiday fund to a foreign country which has realised that such
blatant discrimination is detrimental to its tourism industry.
—Alex Marshall, on e-mail
Going by the grading system you have adopted
for the ministers, the petroleum and natural gas minister should be the
topper. After all, nobody outside the Government is interested in attributes
like "understanding of issues" or "commitment to reforms".
It is the "achievements" that count.
—B. Rita, on e-mail
I was dismayed to see that Laloo Yadav is the
most preferred chief minister of Bihar ("Missing a Leader",
August 20). What about the fodder scam, caste carnages, and non-existence
of tourism and industrialisation? Srikrishna Sinha, the man responsible
for putting modern Bihar on the map of India, has been forgotten. And
it was only after 1961 that Bihar and Biharis became the butt of jokes.
—Suresh Shankar, Patna
Caste And Character
In the editorial on violence in Kashmir, you
mention that "part of the problem is India's national character"
("Passive Resistance", August 20). It is this "character"
perhaps that made an English magazine state after a thorough exploration
that except for two, no Hindu temples were attacked in Kashmir. Again,
it must be this "character" that tries to rationalise every
action of the terrorists and opine that anyone who reacts in provocation
is the scum of the earth.
— Ashok Chowgule, president, VHP, Maharashtra
Pradesh
Optical Delusion
Please desist from publishing irrelevant comments
of B.S. Bedi ("Captain Cowboy", August 13). He seems to be suffering
from a delusion of grandeur. Though a great spinner of the 1970s, he was
recently spitting venom while discussing the lack of character of current
Indian cricketers. Not only a foot, he put both his legs in his mouth.
It is beyond any doubt that Sourav Ganguly has some "pet" cricketers.
But what is the harm in backing competent cricketers? At least he is not
promoting provincialism and aiding incompetent ones as done by his predecessors.
— Mahasweta Mitra, Jayant, Madhya Pradesh
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