It’s good to see Outlook for once supporting the Vajpayee government (The Second Face, February 7). Everything may not be in place for the take-off stage of Reforms Phase II, but no one can doubt the seriousness and resolve of the government. The PM needs to be congratulated for personally spearheading the long-delayed process of divestment. Some within his own party may oppose him on this issue, but he must stand firm.
Ajit Singh,
New Delhi
While denouncing the strike by the UP power sector employees, you seem to think that the corporatisation of upseb will end all evils associated with the government-controlled power sector. Of course, such corporatisation would improve customer service, but it would also mean a steep hike in power tariff that might lead to a de-electrification of the poor people who will not be able to afford it. Orissa, whose example you use to substantiate your view, speaks volumes for it. A huge number of rural poor in Orissa are facing de-electrification due to their inability to pay the increased electricity bills. The yawning gap between the tariff charged by cesc Ltd., a corporatised power sector, and that by wbseb also proves this beyond doubt. The corporatisation of the power sector can benefit the urban middle class, but for the hapless poor, it spells doom.
Sandip Datta,
Naihati, WB
The socio-political pressures behind reforms will certainly give the Vajpayee government sleepless nights in the coming days. But the decisions taken and the paths chosen should be a fait accompli if the second phase of reforms are to be a reality. However, decisions like the one on psu divestment should be accompanied by real accountability; otherwise not only the labour issue but also the resentments of people may cause a backtrack in future.
Devi Prasad Pattnaik,
Bhubaneshwar
I have a few questions after reading Fire on the Water (February 14). Why did Outlook and our champions of "artistic freedom" not protest against the banning of the Satanic Verses? Did any of our ‘secularists’, including Outlook, describe the Shah Bano amendment as ‘revivalist’, ‘trendsetting’ or ‘against the spirit of the Constitution’? Why didn’t you people raise your voice against the government’s decision to withdraw the play on Nathuram Godse or when the play on Jesus Christ was banned and its author put behind bars? Yes, the attack on Water was wrong, but so was the ban on Rushdie. Those who applaud one and feign injury at the others are hypocrites.
I’m a Muslim woman who went through tremendous mental torture at the hands of the clergy for my liberal views. I urge the media to be truly unbiased - do take up the case of the hapless women in Islam as you do of the Hindu widow.
Zubaida Moideen,
Malappuram, Kerala
The Republic Day military show is the modern Indian equivalent of the circus in imperial Rome: a spectacle for the public to distract it from daily worries (The Republic of Roar, February 7). It lets us sustain the fantasy of being a great power even as we lag behind the real powers in education, health and (ironically) in military capability too. But there’s no contradiction between celebrating the Constitution and celebrating our guns and tanks. The parade isn’t a show cynically staged by the ‘rulers’. It’s a spectacle the public demands, consumes with pleasure. As such, it’s eminently democratic. Can’t democracy be an exercise in self-delusion?
Satadru Sen
Seattle, US
Having tinkered with the Constitution 80 times, including an assault on it during Emergency, how can the Congress claim it’s defending its basic structure (The Word Revised, February 7)? Or how can the bjp taunt the Congress for its Emergency record, since it forms a coalition with some of those who backed it? The fear of instability can’t justify experiments with our democratic structure. Our politicians should perhaps reform themselves before they reform the Constitution.
K.R. Sundar Rajan,
New Delhi
Unlike Prem Shankar Jha, I do not foresee a full-scale war with Pakistan, just because it can’t afford to take India head on (The Inevitability of War, February 7). An empty treasury, rising foreign debt, political instability, world pressures are among some such inhibiting factors. As for its declaration of using its nuclear warhead, it’s nothing but an empty threat since Pakistan must be aware of mad or Mutual Assured Destruction.
Praful Bhatnagar,
Mumbai
Central Vigilance Commissioner . Vittal should be supported in his move to clean India of corruption (Graft Gladiator, February 7). But why couldn’t you print the names of the 88 ias and 22 ips officials declared corrupt on the cvc’s website, since not many people have access to the Net. Also, seeing their names in print may have perhaps shamed these shameless people, who did not even have the courtesy to resign.
Leo Rebello,
Mumbai
It’s a pity you should point a finger at the one ingredient in the Indian curry that the ever-hungry Aussies cannot stomach (Sack Sachin, Save Sachin, January 31). If lineage were the criteria for captaincy, Sachin has it; if looks were, then Merv Hughes should have been the all-time Australian captain. The blame lies squarely with the team, where mediocrity reigns supreme. Forget Steve Waugh, Wasim Akram or Hansie Cronje, His Almighty himself would have had trouble winning a series with this team.
Dr Atmaram,
Kodungallur, Kerala
When we are the only country to have a ‘God’ in our cricket team, why should we settle for just the ‘Man’?
Tushar,
on e-mail
It’s time the selectors did relieve Sachin of his captaincy because apart from being utterly deficient in captaincy skills, he also seems prone to personal whims. For instance, he doesn’t mind encouraging ‘young players’ if his Ranji teammates happen to be playing but it doesn’t apply to the likes of T. Kumaran who was unceremoniously sent back when he was still performing. Was he a threat to Agarkar?
M.S. Nandakumar,
Hyderabad
Your article Dead Letter Degree (January 31) leads me to share my own experience in this regard. Despite being selected for a gazetted post in a Delhi government department recently, I was marked ineligible for the post at the 11th hour because my five-year diploma from the Sushant School of Architecture in Gurgaon was not deemed equivalent to a B.Arch degree.
I ran from pillar to post, including the hrd ministry, but in vain. On approaching the institution itself, I was told they had applied to the ministry for recognition in August 1997 but no one had pursued the matter since then. That being so, shouldn’t they have alerted students at the time of admission?
Brijender S. Dua,
New Delhi
Keshubhai Patel’s picture in Test Flights of the Hindutva Dream (January 31) wearing Nikes completely ridiculed the bjp’s war-cry for swadeshi. Or have they finally adopted a more ‘comfortable’ stance towards videshi?
Harsh V. Pratap Singh,
on e-mail
I’ve been an avid reader/subscriber of Outlook. Of late I find it extremely difficult to hold your magazine because of the gatefold cover. I understand your marketing considerations, but isn’t there a more convenient way to ‘shape’ the issue so that it doesn’t bother the reader.
Bharati Shroff,
Chennai
There was a definite note of sarcasm in the item on Bal Thackeray and his family together attending Madhuri Dixit’s wedding (Glitterati, January 24). As a Maharashtrian, I resent the insinuation that we’re a community intolerant of others. I’m proud of Madhuri Dixit’s talents and achievements not only because we belong to the same community but also because she is a fellow Indian.
G. Moghe,
on e-mail
In the conversion debate in India, the standard missionary argument is: "But there are only 2.3 per cent Christians in India. Why do Hindus feel threatened by such a minuscule minority?" I ask them, when should Hindus start feeling threatened? When Christians are 10 per cent, 25 per cent, 65 per cent or 100 per cent?
Sarla Khanna,
New Delhi
It seems Vinod Mehta has begun a debate on the quote he attributed to Bertrand Russell (First Take, January 3). It began with somebody attributing it to Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Then it was blessed with the Theory of Quotational Drift and attributed to Paul Robeson. Now there’s yet another letter from Imphal tht claims the quote to be from Lincoln Steffens. Well, if you’ve goofed, you sure have company, and it only seems to be growing by the day.
P.K. Banerjee,
Calcutta
I was reassured by Piers Morgan’s view quoted by Vinod Mehta in his Delhi Diary (January 24) when he says ‘the public will never lose their love for the print media’. Being a voracious reader myself, I always feel threatened by the alarming rate at which journalism on the Net is growing. At a time when many an adult is struggling to redirect young minds towards reading, will the Net further restrict their analytical ability and reduce them to mobile databanks?
Valli R.,
Tirunelveli
