Get talking

This refers to P.K. Hormis Tharakan8217;s article 8216;Best of all uncertainties8217;. As a former chief of RAW, Tharkan8217;s observations and suggestions to Indian diplomatic...

8226; This refers to P.K. Hormis Tharakan8217;s article 8216;Best of all uncertainties8217;. As a former chief of RAW, Tharkan8217;s observations and suggestions to Indian diplomatic and security establishments are penetrating.One may also accept in principle that the Indian establishment should engage with those on the periphery of the Maoist movement here rather. It may be more judicious than booking them under the law. It is also evident that once such movements gain the political centrestage they tend to lose their 8220;liberating8221; potential.

8212; Amit Pradhan

Baroda

Fire within

8226; The BJP is its own worst enemy. The party8217;s frequent internal dissensions are causing it great harm. There is hardly a state where the BJP8217;s intra-party rivalry is not taking its toll 8212; be it Karnataka, Bihar or Maharashtra. Apart from the inflated personal ambitions of the feuding leaders, it is the distance that the party8217;s top leadership has created between itself and the grassroots workers that is proving to be a big impediment. The Gopinath Munde incident is just a symptom of the BJP8217;s disease.

8212; Y.G. Chouksey

Pune

Numbers key

8226; It is heart-warming to read M. Rajivlochan8217;s faith in IIM studies on the Indian civil services, which seem to have exposed the absence of quantified achievement goals against which bureaucratic performance could be judged. I wonder if Rajivlochan knows that, at the lower levels, such quantification of achievements does exist, especially in the Central offices. It would indeed be interesting to learn from the writer and the IIM experts about instances in the higher civil services of other countries where such quantification exists and how it is carried out.

8212; R. Venkatanarayanan

Noida

Conscience losers

8226; This pertains to the editorial 8216;In the sunlight8217;. The RTI Act has served as a useful tool in the hands of the 8220;governed8221; to gain easy access to information hitherto denied to them by those doing the governing. The act came with the twin objectives of 8220;transparency and accountability8221;. It has thus brought to light some 8220;dubious cases8221; and also improved pubic awareness about the rights of ordinary citizens to seek vital information in the public domain. The move to rope in PricewaterhouseCoopers to assess the RTI Act8217;s performance may be an alibi for subsequently diluting its effectiveness for reasons that are obvious. The 8220;disruption and inconvenience8221; caused by frivolous petitions is not a valid reason for rolling back the act.

8212; S.K. Gupta

Delhi