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Journalism of Courage
The piece by Mihir S. Sharma 8216;Olympian envy,8217; is refreshing as it highlights the importance of taking China8217;s ways with a pinch of salt. In light of the Olympics, there has been widespread admiration of the apparent success of the Chinese establishment followed by a drastic cynicism of the possibility of achieving such high standards here in India. It is myopic of us to disregard the complexities underlying the Indian situation and dangerous to hold China8217;s achievement as an example worth emulating in light of the drastic measures taken in this respect.
8212; Mohit Anand New Delhi
Immortal Olympian
8226; He came, he saw, he conquered! No other statement could better sum up Phelps8217; achievements at the Water Cube. Being hailed as the greatest swimmer ever, he has lived up to his reputation by winning eight gold medals all in world-record time. His 16 Olympic gold medals will remain a rare exploit and will require some superhuman diligence to be bettered in the near future. That someone beset by attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder could achieve so much is reflective of his astonishing will power. In doing so, Phelps has risen above mere mortals to become an immortal Olympic hero.
8212; Pachu Menon Goa
Seasoned player
8226; Your proclamation in the editorial, 8216;Politician Singh8217; about Manmohan Singh becoming a 8220;hardnosed political player now8221; judging from his Independence Day address seems quite arbitrary. In his 50 months in power, there have been umpteen occasions when he could have intervened to assert his supposedly high principles to reverse arbitrary and politically motivated actions of his governors and chief ministers. But more often than not, he prevaricated and defaulted. The latest cash-for-votes scandal was the last straw. Singh became a 8220;hardened8221; political player long ago.
8212; M. Ratan New Delhi
Suitable Singh
8226; By clearing the air about the next prime ministerial candidate for the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi has put to rest all speculations in this regard 8216;Sonia signals Manmohan is her choice for PM again,8217; . Manmohan Singh will henceforth certainly be a more confident PM. If his thrust in the few remaining months of his term was now on the inclusive good of the entire society rather than on the exclusive good of sections of society, people at large will feel that he is worth taking very seriously.
8212;M.C. Joshi Lucknow
Paying them more
8226; The steep hikes in the salaries of Central government employees should have come with a rider: perform and then get paid better. It is common knowledge that government servants are not very efficient, and some purposely do not work, complaining of low pay.
The upward revision of pay scales should have been accompanied by a mechanism for ensuring greater efficiency and accountability. Government employees should be trained to work to their potential and deliver better so that the exchequer is not merely burdened with having to pay them more.
8212; S.N. Kabra Mumbai
