BEST LETTERS OF THE WEEK

This refers to the editorial 'A Budget for Rahul Gandhi' (TSI, Mar 11). As has been rightly pointed out in the editorial, judicial reforms in India are long overdue. The amount of time it takes to arrive at a judgement, not to mention the time spent in fighting the case in higher courts (when a litigant loses case in the lower court), makes it easy for the perpetrators to commit a crime and then gleefully get away with it. Though there have been some landmark cases which delivered justice to the guilty, they are few and far between and justice has been delayed for many years in most cases. Besides judicial reforms, the government should also focus on police reforms, integrating the various regional and national crime fighting units, and nationalising and computerising the criminal database. These measures will go a long way in restoring people's faith in the government.

 

This refers to the Special Story ' Life in a tent' by Mr. Chandrasekhar Bhattacharjee (TSI, Mar 04). Travelling a long way from Kashmir to Kolkata the frightened, traumatised inhabitants of Kashmir Valley left their land in search of a safe place to live. It is a great effort of Mr.Bhattacharjee to bring to light their problems as they stay in tents near the Kali Temple of Dakshineswar. But I can't agree with Mr.Bhattacharjee's use of the term 'Refugee' . If we go with the dictionary meaning, I think Mr.Bhattacharjee rightly used this word considering their escape from the valley. But If we consider their escape in broad point of view , considering their land as a part of India, we can say that they are our neighbours seeking help, shelter in time of their need. It is very much their land as well. Manas Mukhopadhyay,

The cover story 'Raiders of the hills' (TSI, Mar 04 March) brings to the fore the unbridled ecological degradation of the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats, not only neutralises substantial amount of green house emissions, they are also a treasure-trove of biodiversity, nesting several unique species of amphibians and reptiles. It would indeed be an ecological disaster if the lush green Western Ghats turn arid in the years to come due to senseless human activities. The struggle of the environmentalists, indigenous people and civil society movement may have slowed the environmental exploitation of the Western Ghats, but the battle is far from over. The success of this ecological movement rests on people's participation. The more the involvement of the aam aadmi, the greater the chances of the environmental campaign triumphing.