Letters to Editor

A 'noble' gesture

It is with a great sense of relief and gratitude that we received the news that IIPM has instituted the Rs seven crore Rabindranath Tagore International Prize as an alternative to the Nobel Prize (TSI, August 22-28). This was a long time aspiration of people who used to bleed in their hearts whenever coveted awards like the Nobel were mostly given away to scholars of the West. It would often remind me of Thomas Gray's lines: “Full many a flower is born to blush unseen/ And waste its sweetness on the desert air!” IIPM deserves accolades for not only recognising the writing prowess of Rampada Chowdhuri, but also for not forgetting to honour six other writers posthumously. We would now see many more meritorious economists, authors and custodians of peace receiving the above coveted prize irrespective of their nationality.
Tharcius S. Fernando
Chennai

Greater participation needed

It is important for Anna to become more flexible and respectful towards the democratic process in order to give a bigger thrust to his movement. I agree with Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri that Anna Hazare's adamant attitude might paralyse India's democratic system (TSI, August 22-28). Can we cut the banyan tree of corruption of decades through a particular movement in a particular place with some Anna devotees all at once? We can call this a period of political crisis. An honest social leader can serve the country adequately if he becomes the elected representative of the people. Their participation is needed for representing a transparent and responsible government and governance. But the problem of our political culture is that candidates are selected on the basis of their muscle-power and not honesty. By repeatedly observing fasts, Anna Hazare is indirectly blackmailing the state to fulfill his demand.
Uttam Kumar Bhowmik,
Tamluk

Hats off to them

The Real Heroes Special issue (TSI, August 15-21) came at a very appropriate time when India is waging a war against corrupt people. May I also share an example of such hero. This is a true story of a strict head master of a government school of Tikri village near Delhi, Hoshiyar Singh. Hoshiyar Singh was hated all through his life for his rigourous discipline. He never allowed students to adopt unfair means during examinations. When his only son appeared for his std. X examination from the same school, all eyes were on Hoshiyar Singh because his son was not meritorious. As expected Singh’s son tried to copy during his board examination but Singh got him rusticated. His son could not bear this humiliation and committed suicide. Since then, all his critics were silenced. Hoshiyar Singh is still just as dedicated towards the cause of discipline.
Rajneesh Batra
New Delhi

Great initiative

This refers to Media Watch (August 8-14) which carries a feast of real stories about media barons. The philanthropist activities of TV9 channel are worth emulating by other channels too. Hats off to them.
Satyamurty
Kakinada

A welcome trend

‘Made in a Madrasa’ (TSI, August 8-14) made for an interesting read. To some extent, it also reflects the growing confidence between the Hindus and the Muslims. Hindu families sending their children for education to madrasas would not have been possible otherwise. However, while sending children to missionary schools is seen as a progressive step, madrasas are not given much consideration. I think more than religious considerations, a school’s infrastructure, syllabus, discipline and the quality of teachers are the real criteria that should influence parents and their children. May be, if the madrasas are modernised, Hindu students might just outnumber their Muslim brethren there. I wish it does happen. This will foster better understanding between the two comm-unities.
Madhukar Mohan
Ahmedabad

The real mother

I want to congratulate Puja Awasthi for writing such a great story about Sarojini Agarwal (Real Heroes, TSI, August 15-21). I salute mothers like Sarojini Agarwal, who in spite of losing her own daughter, is acting as the mother of so many daughters. It is great to know about people who are transforming the lives of people around them.
Ashish Prakash
Allahabad

With an eye on the future

Apropos of the editorial "Chinese investments in Africa..." by Arindam Chaudhuri, China is showing foresight and this is where India is lagging behind (TSI, August 15-21). Indians think only about the near future but China is keen to look into the distant future. Africa is the next big business plot and China has sensed it. Our ministers are just worried about securing power for themselves. The Chinese proved the world wrong with the 'Made in China' tag. India has to tap Africa and train its professionals in the African languages. We have talent but we lack foresight. We need to learn from the Chinese. They are not only fearless, but they also have a calculative mind.
Loveen Motwani
Pune

It's just 'besharmi'

This refers to “Besharmi Morcha: The whole She bang” (TSI, August 8-14).  From time immemorial women have been conscious about their appearance and they always want to be praised by others. But, with the mingling of Western values and culture, the concept of the beauty of woman has changed. Nowadays, showing flesh is considered to be beauty. The word ‘provocation’ follows. At the same time it is true that only provocative dresses are not the reasons behind violence against women. On the other hand, ‘slut walk’ or ‘Besharmi Morcha’ can never be the means to protest against violence against women.
Manas Mukhopadhyay
Hooghly, West Bengal

A condemnable practice

Kailash Satyarth's article "Taking on the circus" (TSI, Aug 15-21) reinforces the fact that child labour is rampant in small-scale and unorganised industries. Despite the Supreme Court banning employment of children in certain notified vocations, a child's helplessness and submissiveness have been exploited by unscrupulous employers who keep them as bonded labourers. In this context, in order to eradicate child labour, the suggestions by developed nations to ban the sale of all  products made by children was a step in the right direction. It is not enough to confront only the employers who engage children but their parents too. It is heartening to note that the writer's efforts have borne fruits in reducing child labour in carpet industry. The panacea to end this social evil lies in frequent and surprise raids on organisations that hire child labours.
R. Srinivasan,
Secunderabad

A false struggle?

I totally agree with Mr. Arindam's views on Anna Hazare's protest. I want to add that such a protest will have a very bad effect on daily wage earners as they would not be working while protesting. In Anna's movement there is double loss for India. While on the one hand, corruption will continue despite Anna's fast, our economy will be paralysed as some business houses are observing shut down in Anna's support. We are democratic, but our constitution guarantees right to speech on the condition that it will not harm anyone.
Vishal Vyas
Hyderabad

Govt needs some room

Prof. Arindam Chaudhari is correct that Anna Hazare needs to be flexible (TSI, Aug 22-28). Anna's movement is an outpouring of public anger against rampant corruption. But the fact still remains that Parliament is supreme. No one is above the law. Now that Anna and team have made their point, it would be great if they took a few steps back giving the cornered government a chance to redeem itself. Also, there needs to be another movement to remove corruption from the minds of the people– a spiritual movement where people are taught to live simple life without greed. India is a nation of spiritualism. 
Santosh Mohan Joshi
Sangli, Maharashtra

Indelible memories

Monojit Lahiri has paid a wonderful tribute to his childhood hero, Mr. Yahoo aka Shammi Kapoor, the rebel star who revolutionised the concept of screen stardom and romance, in his write-up “Mere Yaar Shab bakhair…!" (TSI, Aug 22-28). Shammi will be remembered in Bollywood for redefining the image of the traditional hero. During the mid 1960s, each Shammi film was pure ambrosia transporting the viewers to a world of make-believe where boy chased girl with gusto, bordering on behaviour that would today bring the Crime Against Women cell scurrying to the spot. It was he who introduced rock’n’roll in Bollywood and carved a niche for himself with films like Junglee, Bluff Master and Tumsa Nahin Dekha. His “Yahoo” has become a sacred chant for every Hindi film lover across the world. Lahiri has rightly concluded that we shall forever miss him and that the one line every fan will always sing with love and gratitude for Shammi Kapoor is “Tumsa Nahin Dekha.”
Suman Kukal
Ambala Cantt