Future imperfect

8226; Till the time the BJP came to power six years ago, it stuck to its Hindutva ideology. Thereafter, throughout its tenure in office, the party put this issue on the backburner only to rake it up once again after its shock defeat in the recent general elections. From the face of it, it appears that the BJP is playing the Hindutva card only to come to power. In other words, the party wants to raise religious passions among the people, create a rift among different sections of the populace, only to meet its own selfish ends. Is this not a disturbing sign?

8212;V. Rajesh Mumbai

Planning omission

8226; Your editorial 8216;Plan this mission8217; June 18 was timely. The Planning Commission was set up soon after Independence.
At that time, socialism was the mantra for socio-economic development, and public sector undertakings were deemed critical for rapid industrialisation. Now, with liberalisation and globalisation of the Indian economy well under way, the Planning Commission8217;s role is generally limited to monitoring Central schemes. In view of this it is rightly pointed out in the editorial that 8220;the Planning Commission should work towards making itself redundant8221;.
However, the tragedy in India is that once a department is created, it is very difficult to even prune it, let alone shut it.

8212;Vidya Sagar Delhi

Deserve, not reserve

8226; The idea of reservation even in the private sector would not only blunt the Indian economy8217;s competitive edge but it would also tarnish the image of the so-called under-privileged. In a free democratic nation like India doesn8217;t something like back-door entry on the wings of reservation smack of discrimination? Doesn8217;t this go against the spirit of our Constitution? There should be free and fair competition, and let the deserving winner get the job. By providing reservations we are setting different yardsticks and selection is then based not on merit, but on the candidate8217;s last name and caste.
Now we have calls for reservation within reservation. In the name of emancipation, are we not fragmenting society and supporting divisive ideologies?

8212;Mayank Kedia Mumbai

A magic broom

8226; It was very encouraging to read about the cleaning drive of Rajgadh and the neigbouring villages in Maharashtra 8216;You won8217;t spot it on most maps, but here India is actually Shining8217;, IE, June 23. I am sure all of us will be inspired by this example.

8212;Anand M. Mani On e-mail