The cover story, Azhar, Pass on the Baton (July 10), advocated the appointment of Sachin Tendulkar as the next captain of the Indian cricket team. Sachin is a brilliant player by any standard. Even Don Bradman has paid him rich compliments. But captaincy at this young age is fraught with risks both to himself as well as to the team. Will senior players like Srinath, Kumble and Azharuddin accept him as leader, commander, critic? Doubtful.
More than this, the mental burden of the role of captaincy is sure to affect his performance. Let Sachin concentrate on his batting and become the Bradman of India. Captain he can be—a little later.
K.S. Bhalla, New Delhi
A well-balanced article on the ongoing debate on nuclear safety (How Safe are our N-Reactors?, July 10) had a misleading introduction: "An Indian Chernobyl? AERB cites 130 reasons why it is possible" The writer herself says that 700 internal references led to only 130 safety-related issues (this is less than 20 per cent), more than half of which have been taken care of by the Nuclear Power Corporation and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Further, yet another 10 per cent relate to installations under construction. This leaves very few issues—which, again, are probably of debatable significance. In fact, the former chairman of AERB had stated that the "AERB evaluation has not revealed any dangerous deficiency in any of the DAE installations which warrants restrictive action on its continued operation. In our judgement, no existing shortcoming could lead to a nuclear disaster or a Chernobyl-type catastrophe in Indian nuclear installations." The poser was uncalled for.
R. Poorna, Bombay
In Probe Hamstrung (July 10), the reference to the alleged difference of opinion between the CBI director and joint director is mischievous, speculative and baseless. It was also unfair to link the arrest of any person with the tenure of the director, CBI, quoting a "key official".
It appears that to sensationalise an issue one can write anything and any ‘source’ may be attributed to it. It was certainly not expected from an esteemed newsmagazine. The investigation into the urea case is being pursued vigorously in accordance with the law. The CBI acted very quickly and will continue to do so without any favour or bias.
S.M. Khan, New Delhi
A well-balanced article on the ongoing debate on nuclear safety (How Safe are our N-Reactors?, July 10) had a misleading introduction: "An Indian Chernobyl? AERB cites 130 reasons why it is possible" The writer herself says that 700 internal references led to only 130 safety-related issues (this is less than 20 per cent), more than half of which have been taken care of by the Nuclear Power Corporation and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Further, yet another 10 per cent relate to installations under construction. This leaves very few issues—which, again, are probably of debatable significance. In fact, the former chairman of AERB had stated that the "AERB evaluation has not revealed any dangerous deficiency in any of the DAE installations which warrants restrictive action on its continued operation. In our judgement, no existing shortcoming could lead to a nuclear disaster or a Chernobyl-type catastrophe in Indian nuclear installations." The poser was uncalled for.
R. Poorna, Bombay
In Probe Hamstrung (July 10), the reference to the alleged difference of opinion between the CBI director and joint director is mischievous, speculative and baseless. It was also unfair to link the arrest of any person with the tenure of the director, CBI, quoting a "key official".
It appears that to sensationalise an issue one can write anything and any ‘source’ may be attributed to it. It was certainly not expected from an esteemed newsmagazine. The investigation into the urea case is being pursued vigorously in accordance with the law. The CBI acted very quickly and will continue to do so without any favour or bias.
S.M. Khan, New Delhi
Your cover story, Going Places (July 3), was interesting. Tourism has great potential for development and must be trea ted as an industry. Our country has beautiful monuments and tourist spots. Foreign tourists are on the increase but, sadly, the facilities provided to them—accommodation and travelling arrangements—are not up to the mark. This may hamper the growth of tourism in years to come. It would be a good idea to privatise the tourism industry. This will improve facilities and more foreigners would then want to visit our shores.
S.N. Kabra, Bombay
I agree that the Government turned a blind eye towards domestic tourism but the private sector, too, has failed to recognise the potential. Even now, domestic tourists find it difficult to get reservations to lesser-known destinations. Barring a few companies like Sterling, which is promoting small destinations—Yella-giri, a hill resort in Tamil Nadu, for example—others have paid little heed to this problem, which may be overcome with a three-point programme:
1. Developing infrastructure in lesser-known destinations
2. Promoting domestic circuits through private tour operators
3. Creating recreational facilities to woo tourists.
I am happy your magazine has taken the initiative in this area.
Balaji Arunachalam, New Delhi
In the article, Chasing Crooked Shadows (July 3), you mention M. Sambasiva Rao as the Indian agent of the Turkish firm, Karsan. But a photograph caption says Sanjeeva Rao is the Indian agent. Please clarify.
Hindumal M. Shah, Kurnool
Sambasiva Rao is the Indian agent of the firm Karsan. The photograph, however, is of San-jeeva Rao and was wrongly captioned. The error is regretted.
This refers to Learning: Age no Bar (July 3), which provides an enlightened debate on the issue of learning. When I left school, my principal told me: "Learn as if you have to live forever, live as if you have to die tomorrow." The span of one’s life is too little to learn enough. As Newton once said: "I have managed to gather only a few pebbles on the shores of the vast ocean of knowledge." If someone wants to learn, even during his twilight years, then the effort is praiseworthy.
S. Mohanty, New Delhi
The cover story, Why are we afraid of Murdoch? (July 17), and the article on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (In Isolation Ward Again) in the same issue give a totally different angle on matters about which, thankfully, there is almost total consensus. I am afraid in both the stories you tried to create an opinion that goes against national interests. I shudder to think what would have happened had there been foreign-owned/controlled newspapers and media in India. They would have tried to create a pro-West opinion—against the official stand. Our national interests will be well served if we keep out the foreign media. I also request you to be more careful on topics sensitive to the nation’s security and integrity.
Rajeev Gogia, Ambala
Apropos Nemesis is Here (July 3), the probe into Sasikala’s wealth and various FERA violations is symptomatic of the misuse of power by people who are close to the powers-that-be. Law-enforcing agencies were aware of Sasikala’s illegal activities, but because of her proximity to Jayalalitha, the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, no one dared to initiate proceedings against her. Sasikala has been finally brought to heel but one hopes the law takes its own course and leads to the logical conclusion. The people also expect the authorities to look into the extravagant wedding of Jayalalitha’s foster son last year, which reminded one of the feudal order of the past. It is obvious that the Congress-AIADMK tie-up on election-eve was on the understanding that no action would be taken against Jayalalitha and Sasikala, but matters took a different turn once they lost the mandate.
V.S. Garg, Moradabad
This refers to the 25-page advertisement of a business house in your June 26 issue. You should launch a separate magazine for advertisements instead of turning regular issues into mouthpieces of some consumer goods-producing companies.
Kanwar Yogendra Singh, Shimla
Apropos One Man Show—V.P. Singh (June 12), India, like some other nations (Iraq has Saddam Hussein), has some politicians who have only spelt trouble for the country. No one else can vie for that position more than V.P. Singh. Gandhiji strived to abolish the caste system but V.P. Singh brought it back with his Mandal and Masjid policies.
During his tenure as prime minister, petrol prices were doubled and economically the country was on the verge of bankruptcy. Even politically and socially (Mandal conflagration), V.P. Singh’s 44 weeks in power were more of a misrule.If the country has a handful of V.P. Singhs—the United Front has several—it will soon be on the path to poverty.
Nirmala Prasad, Bangalore
Bombay’s premier Urdu daily, Inquilab, in its June 24 issue, carried a news item from Madras about the inauguration of a local chapter of Milli Parliament. And a declaration by Milli Parliament’s national convenor, Kamal-uz-Zafar, that Muslims should be awarded 122 reserved seats in the Lok Sabha. A majority of Muslim leaders have been in mainstream political parties for the last 49 years and have never supported a separate agenda for political representation. Extreme elements are now taking advantage of the grievances of Muslims and pushing for extreme measures, which may be counter-productive.
It is time national leaders like V.P. Singh undertake bold initiatives to redress injustices to Muslims, who, in the absence of able leaders, are susceptible to sway towards extremism. Both the Partition and Babri Masjid disasters could have been avoided with genuine statesmanship from both sides. The Muslims’ demands should be addressed before it is too late.
A.R. Sharifi, Bombay
This refers to The Rebellion Remains a Myth and An Official Disaster (June 26). P.V. Narasimha Rao and Mohammad Azharuddin are the two great survivors of the time. Critics have lampooned them, the press has tarnished them and rivals have tried their level best to oust them, but they remain unshaken—like old mountains.Rao has faced many a poll debacle. And he has faced intra-party feuds and scathing attacks on his style of functioning. Even the various corruption charges have not been able to make him dance to the music of rivals.
Similarly, Azharuddin hasfaced two consecutive and humiliating World Cup fias-cos and also fared badly in the recent England Test and One-day series. Critics have lashed out against his captaincy, but nothing has been able to cow him down.
Be it N.D. Tiwari, Arjun Singh or Sonia Gandhi in the case of Rao; or Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, Sunil Gavaskar and Navjot Singh Sidhu in the case of Azharuddin—all of them have found themselves outclassed and out manoeuvred by these two giant killers.
If the fortunes and the lost glory of the Congress and the Indian cricket team have to be salvaged, then Rao and Azharuddin should relinquish their respective posts at the earliest—and gracefully.
Manish Massey, Udaipur
This is in response to the letter from Jairaj Ramachandran about the article, Palace in Peril (June 5). The Kalari and the Venganad are both part of the Kollengode Kovillagam complex built by Vasudeva Valia Raja, who clearly mentions in his will that the entire complex should not be alienated or destroyed. The Outlook report mentions that the so-called partition was never ratified by law. As his direct descendant (my mother is Vasudeva Valia Raja’s daughter), I have every right to uphold my grandfather’s will. It is far better, in my opinion, that the Archaeological Survey of India take over the palace rather than it be left in the hands of a group of independent professionals who have not been able to stop the destruction of the Venganad. The picture of the palace has been provided by Thorotill Sridhara Menon, leader of the Kollengode Samrakshana Samiti. As someone who has been waging a long battle to prevent any damage to the palace, he would surely be aware of the veracity of the photograph.
Jaya Jaitly, New Delhi