Double standards

Undermining IITs

• India’s IITs have been adjudged the third best technical institutes in the world. At the same time Infosys, one of the most admired companies in India, has asked for the intake in the IITs to be expanded to 30,000. There is a question of balancing quality with quantity. Though it is proper to expand the number of engineers coming out of the IITs, we should not undermine the quality of education imparted by these premier institutes.

— S. Kamat On e-mail

Science speaks

• President Kalam’s concern expressed at the high-resolution mapping imagery being made available through Google Earth is understandable. However a scientist of his stature would also concede that with countless reconnaissance satellite orbiting the earth, imaging of the earth can no longer be a privileged domain. Since these satellites belong to different nations, including India, sharp images can no longer remain classified documents. The technology that may allow terrorists to know about the layout of President House also reveals the location of their camps in PoK. The answer to the security concerns expressed by him does not lie in shutting down a website. It demands better surveillance and counter intelligence.

— J.M. Manchanda New Delhi

Silly stuff

• Of late it’s noticed that irrelevant matter is dished out by so-called columnists and freelancers in the majority of print and electronic media. Seldom do we find an article of substance on the burning issues of the day. Frivolities such as the life and times of Page 3 people is splashed all over with glee. Programme
managers/editors should exercise caution and ensure that people of substance and with some degree of expertise and knowledge are encouraged to express their views on social and governance issues. Also the space devoted for ‘Letters to the editor’ is woefully
inadequate.

— G.R. Vora Mumbai

Tailpiece

• Candidates in the ongoing Bihar assembly elections would certainly welcome abolition of the death penalty (‘Death penalty is law…’, IE, Oct 20). Considering the number of them accused or convicted of serious crimes such as robbery, goonda-giri, even rape and murder, these aspiring MLAs would otherwise give a whole new meaning to the term “hung assembly”!

— R.P. Subramanian Delhi