Letters to Editor

Agony and ecstasy
I went through the thought-provoking piece of Prasoon Majumdar “Indian Sports Pvt. Ltd” (TSI-Nov 13) with a sense of agony and ecstasy. The way Common Wealth Games were conducted and concluded by the authorities was absolutely disgusting. But now I am jubiliant over the manner in which the privately managed F1 Race was held in Greater Noida. The private managers always look at such great opportunities of playing host to coveted sports events primarily as a national pride, and secondly as a great honour vested on them with trust. As suggested by Prasoon, it is time we should learn lessons from the recent F1 race and the fantastic way in which the other privately managed sports arenas function. If we fail, we would continuously face shame like what we encountered in the last CWGs, of course, at the cost and loss of the face of our country!
Tharcius S. Fernando
Chennai

Need for some reforms
Arindam Chaudhuri’s editorial “7 billion people and the resource…” (TSI-Nov 13) is an eye-opening for people across the globe. There is no denying that the planet earth, with a huge population of 7 billion, is not at all capable of sustaining the crises that have been brought to the boil. But is this simply population explosion that has given rise to the entire gamut of problems which haunt our nations today? What about the ‘passion explosion’ of yuppies of the fast galloping neo-liberalised and globalised Indian economy of the post-1990s reforms? They say that problems have stemmed from resource-crises of myriad sorts. But what about the millions of tonnes of food grains that get rotten every year in and out of the FCI godowns of the government of India. What about the problem of energy-crunch in the wake of wastage of power during its production, distribution and especially because of its theft? This situation, which has created cataclysmic panic in the lives of the people, demands immediate holistic paradigm reforms. We need to harness the overused earth with the help of eco-friendly and renewable source of resources, most importantly the solar energy and the organic farming of the cultivation. Our way of life and insight towards the world needs to be made philosophically more simple and puritan. And our conscience too needs to be spiritually moulded that may always remind us that we have not inherited this earth from our forefathers but borrowed from our children.
Shreerprakash Sharma
Samastipur, Bihar

The american hegemony
In his editorial ( TSI-Nov 6 ), Mr Arindam Chaudhuri, poses a very significant question on the most brutal and disgraceful elimination of Muammar Gaddafi from Libya: 'Do Americans want complete anarchy in the Middle East to justify their massive defence  budgets?' The attempt is to bring forth the American double standards by taking a simple look at the three regimes which have been overthrown in Libya, Egypt and Iraq, for there can be nothing more shameful than what the US is doing to the entire Middle East and Africa. Not only has it been supporting the dictators with arms but, by this act, they have overthrown three most successful regimes of the region to quench their lust for oil. Now it is planning to bolster its military presence in the Persian Gulf after it withdrew its troops from Iraq this year. For this, it is not only sending more naval warships in the gulf through international waters but also seeking to expand military ties with six nations of the Gulf Cooperative Council - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Baharin, Qatar, The United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Will the world wake up and act against this unilateral dictatorship in the name of democracy?
Kapil Dev
Kalka

Let's follow rules
This refers to the story 'Wrong number?' (TSI-Nov 6). I wonder why we people have some kind of compulsive violator in us that has a constant itch to break the law. If the Speed Limit is raised from 40 kmph to 50 kmph, we start driving at 60 kmph. If the office hours are shifted from 9:30 am to 10:00 am, we start reaching at 10:30 am. In nutshell, we hate any kind of limits, boundaries and bars, and thus not only land ourselves in trouble but also unsettle the entire system at large. And the 100 SMS limit is yet another example of it. Will anyone cease to exist if he or she does not send 100 SMSs a day. However, so far as keeping a check on unsolicited promotional SMSs is concerned, I think there should be a better way to curb them.
Rajneesh Batra
New Delhi

End of capitalism
This refers to the cover story 'The end of Capitalism - US in distress' (TSI-Oct 30). The United States is facing its gravest crisis of capitalism, traditionally raw on its underside. Yet the vigour of American capitalism and its 'innovativeness' spring from its pitiless rejection of failed men and women. More and more Americans seem to be coming to the conclusion that the original bargain has ceased to work as it was supposed to. The spread of the Occupy Wall Street movement across Europe and other parts of the world, too, is due to specific grievances that have assumed new proportions. The movement would have served a great purpose had it been able to persuade America to modify its form of capitalism.
UshaKiran.
New Delhi

Save human life
I am moved by Prasoon S Majumdar’s write-up 'It is dark under the light' (TSI-Nov 6) that reminds one of the the dismal picture behind the celebration of light by the glitterati unaware of the sordid life of the labourers at Sivakasi. Isn’t it shameful that the fire accidents have left a lot of children orphaned during the last decade? When the workforce in Sivakasi has been thrust onto the hazardous task of making crackers, the government must think of the safety of the  down-trodden workers. Kudos to TSI and the writer for raising such a sensitive issue.   
Durbadal Ghibela
Balangir, Orissa

Ideological disparity
I am surprised at reading the story ‘Reject the Hardline Wahabis’ (TSI-Oct 30). I feel that the media should be neutral in its work. It is not fair to reject or downplay the belief of 'Wahabis' or for that matter any other religious community just beacuse you are unaware about it. Who says Wahabis bring bad name to the Muslim community. Mere ideological disparity should be not taken as a portrait goodness or badness.
Altamash Tanweer
West Bengal

Paradigm shift?
This refers to the article 'Team Anna's Limitation' (TSI-Oct 30). The writer has rightly said that Anna's movement has lost much of what it achieved after the apolitical movement has been ostensibly turned into a rather political one by its team members. After the unprecedented response received from cross-section of people across the country, Team Anna's 'paradigm-shift' has set a bad precedent. Further, when India's political system is marked by inability to deal with widespread corruption, Anna's movement to fill the vacuum in the fight against corruption was a step in the right direction. But now, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi's anti-congress election campaign opposing congress candidate in the Hisar bye-election, and Prashant Bhushan's unwarranted remarks on Kashmir has not only sent  jitters in the Congress camp but also enabled BJP to hijack the movement to its advantage. It is time that Team Anna should learn a lesson.
R. Srinivasan
Secunderabad

Plundering of resources
This refers to the editorial '7 billion people and the resource crunch! Who is the real culprit?' (TSI-Nov 13 issue). The author has made apt analysis of the World population bulge which will put pressure on limited global resources. Already much damage has been done by the developed countries. Being mere 10 per cent of the entire world population, they consume 48 per cent of the earth's resources. And the rest population from the developing and the underdeveloped countries consume only 52 per cent. With seven billion people, the world is getting dangerously overcrowded, not only due to its people but due to the increasing inequalities in accessing the earth's non-renewable resources. The problem is not with the population growth; it is rather in the plunwdering of earth's resources.
Neerja
Panchkula, Haryana

Resource Crunch

For his scholarly editorial, “Seven billion people and the resource crunch” (TSI-Nov. 13), Arindam Chaudhuri deserves praise. We have a society in which resources are increasingly concentrated in the hands of people from developed nations like the US and the UK. People from the developing countries are paying the price for unabashed lifestyle and waste of their counterparts from developed nations. The situation threatens to make us a global society in name only. Social alienation and deepening instability will undermine the prospects for peace, security and prosperity for all. The leaders of developed countries should agree to a concrete action plan that advances the well-being of all the nations. They should lay the foundations for an inclusive economic prosperity for everyone. Otherwise, the future will come to them with a sense of vengeance.
P. V. George
Kottayam, Kerala