Letters to The Editor

No to FDI
This refers to the editorial “Go the Korean way…Make world-class products and campaign for national pride instead of against FDI in retail” by Arindam Chaudhuri (TSI, Dec 11). When the whole world is at our doorstep, healthy competition is necessary for Indians to make standard agrarian products and other commodities. But for healthy competition, people should be well-educated about modern system of harvesting and marketing. To market their products government should provide a good chain of communication and build storage houses for extra products. The government's argument is that farmers are suffering by selling their products at cheap prices and the middlemen are getting more profit than farmers. But if retailers like Wal-Mart come, can farmers of remotest villages where exists a long communication and infrastructural gap survive? The government should encourage indigenous organised business sectors rather than welcoming foreign investment to strengthen domestic economy. 
Uttam K. Bhowmik
Dhalhara, Tamluk

Protect the witnesses
It refers to the article, “Justice delayed, not denied” (TSI, Nov 27) by Manish Macwan. It is really heartening that justice prevailed to a great extent when in the Sardarpura massacre case, the learned judge awarded life imprisonment to 31 accused, though the horrific and heinous crimes committed by them which really shook the whole world should have pushed them to the gallows. In most of the post-Godhra cases, where the entire state machinery is also accused of complicity, justice seems to evade or get inordinately delayed. However, thanks to the intervention of the Supreme Court sensing the situation at the right time and with their stern orders to the SIT to probe the case with all seriousness, the family members of those hapless people heartlessly roasted by the hooligans, have received solace in the form of the latest judgment. We all know how the witnesses were and are being terrorised by the big fishes said to be involved in the arson and gruesome murders. The horrifying murder of Nadeem Saiyed, critical witness in Naroda Patiya case and RTI activist, facilitated by the mysterious disappearance of his security guards speaks volumes of the threat and danger the witnesses are subjected to by the bigwigs involved in the post Godhra pogram. Under the circumstances, it becomes paramount that the central government comes forward to promulgate the comprehensive structure laid out by the 17th Law Commission in its report on, ‘Witness Identity Protection’ as an Act, keeping in mind the safety and protection of witnesses in all such important and sensitive cases.
Fiona Waltair
Chennai

Spread awareness
Apropos of the cover story “Have a heart”, it is high time that laws governing the transplantation of human organs became flexible. Even if people are willing to donate organs, the delay in official documentation and its proceedings can lead to the patient's death. People have a lot of misconceptions about organ donations. Celebrities and influential people can campaign for making people who do not know much about organ transplantation aware about the goodness it can do to save a life.
Jayadeva Varma M
Kottayam, Kerala

Save europe, save world
The editorial “The beginning of a massive European collapse and the Italian case!” ( TSI, Nov 27) by Arindam Chaudhuri analyses the grave economic crises facing Europe. The falling apart of erstwhile strong economies is leading to a cascading effect and sending tremors across the continent. Now what worries Europe is a stark reality that these crisis of enormous debt is appearing to be contagious, having spread to other countries and threatening entities like Ireland. When these chaos, with its genesis in the US, currently infecting is economic these are required to be dealt with by professional economists and technocrats rather than smooth talking politicians. To pull out of the debt trap, cost control measures will have to be adopted. Spendthrift habits will have to be discarded totally. If these economically ailing countries fail to take the corrective actions it will prove to be a tickling time bomb with a potentiality to destroy the global economy. It is for Europe now to diffuse it not only for its own sake but for the world too.
Neerja
Panchkula, Haryana

Learn from the past
Apropos your cover story “The truth behind the Delhi high court blast” (TSI, Nov 27), the biggest truth behind the blast is the 3Cs of our nation – compulsive complacent character. We are very similar to that reckless driver who after having a close shave, celebrates his survival by giving more gas to the accelerator to end up in a mortuary. The resurgence of Khalistan terrorism is no exception either. There is a golden rule of curing any disease, that is, hit the root cause of it, but our system refuses to learn it. If beheading is not the cure of brain tumor, a crocin cannot treat it either. One has to go under knife to get rid of it. We did the same while handling Punjab problem in 1980s. We cleaned the premises of Golden Temple, but did not bother to clean the hearts which were nursing hatred against mankind. It is high time when we should take a leaf from this high court blast episode, or else the day is not very far when we would be witnessing a repeat of Kandahar and Rubaiya Syed for the release of Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab.
Rajneesh Batra
New Delhi

Action needed, fast
On the day to day worsening economic scenario of Europe, Arindam Chaudhuri in the editorial “The beginning of a massive European collapse...” (TSI, Nov 27) has made an apt analysis that these financial setbacks due to the fall outs of erstwhile strong economies of Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain have been triggered by political mismanagement impacting their entire social structure to a large extent and have led to a cascading effect. It is a matter of global worry as the malaise of European debt crisis spreading at an alarming rate is  threatening the global economy. If Europe does not move quickly to put in place a strong plan to restore financial stability then there would be such a crash that would instantly wipe out half of the value of its economy, plunging the continent into a depression as deep as the 1930s slump.
Suman Kukal
Udaipur

Unnatural alliance
This refers to the story “NATO shoots itself in the foot” (TSI, Dec 11). The US initially tried to assuage the hurt feelings of Pakistan by pointing out that the drone attack was in retaliation to firings by Pakistan’s armed forces at NATO troops in border areas in Afghanistan. But soon Pakistan Army spokesman Athar Abbas refuted the US allegation and this led to Washington saying that it would order an enquiry into the whole incident. Will the US punish its soldiers if they are found guilty? Pakistan has told the US that nothing less than severe punishment to those behind the drone attack will satisfy the angry Pakistani public. Their ties got severely strained after the killing of Osama bin Laden at Abbotabad, without taking the Pakistani authorities into confidence. Since then Washington and Islamabad have not been trusting each other, but the US has been doing all it can to ensure that Pakistan remains its ally in the drive against terrorism. Pakistan, too, had no choice but to cooperate. But this is an unnatural alliance which may not continue now.
Meghana A
Hyderabad

Time to reorganise states
Apropos your story “Advantage BSP as Maya slices up”, Ms Mayavati’s proposal may tear open a Pandora’s box that the Congress is trying desperately to cap by deferring its decision on Telangana. But the party cannot, while deriding the BSP supremo, overlook the fact that ‘no decision’ is not such a good decision. The central government is well within its rights to firmly discourage demands for remapping the boundaries of states. It needs to say so. Fragmentation, if allowed on the basis of the inexorable logic of identity politics, will balkanise the country without fulfilling the needs of the people in whose name the divisions are pushed through. Maybe the time has come for a second states reorganisation commission.
P. Arihanth
Secunderabad

Why oppose the FDI

The FDI-in-retail issue seems to have become more important than price rise and black money (TSI, Dec 11). Instead of engaging in an enlightened public debate, which requires substantial home work, Opposition MPs find it easier to disrupt Parliament since this attracts greater media attention. Where is the need for protests when the states have the freedom to say no to foreign retailers? In a country where 40 per cent of the farm produce goes waste for want of an effective supply chain, air-conditioning and transportation, it is strange that so many parties have ganged up against the farmer-friendly move. Some of the foreign multi-nationals like Wal-Mart and PepsiCo are already in business here as 51 per cent FDI is allowed in single-brand retail. Their presence has rather benefitted farmers through direct procurement at good prices. as well as shopkeepers with wholesale supplies at reasonable rates under one roof.
J.S.Acharya
Hyderabad