Letters To The Editor

Commendable stance 8226; THE two members of the National Knowledge Commission, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Andre Beteille, deserve our commendat...

Commendable stance

8226; THE two members of the National Knowledge Commission, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Andre Beteille, deserve our commendation for resigning from the outfit in protest against the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government8217;s wrong and thoughtless stand on OBC reservation quota. The convener of the Commission, Pratap Bhanu Mehta 8216;Dear Prime Minister8217;, IE, May 23, has powerfully indicted the government for its failure to reverse the policies which, at best, represent 8220;tokenism8221; and the 8220;politics of illusion8221;, 8220;licensing new forms of inequity and arbitrariness8221;. Unfortunately, in the prevailing atmosphere when the PM is acting more as a politician of the vote-bank variety and not as a globalising reformist, there is a near-zero possibility of his heeding the voice of wisdom and reason.

8212; M. Ratan New Delhi

8226; THE resignations of two members of the Knowledge Commission are a sad, although not unexpected, development. Small and closed minds 8212; as HRD Minister Arjun Singh so often reveals through his words 8212; are a threat to democracy, which is synonymous with free thinking. Mehta8217;s letter is a reasoned one 8212; if the country is at all open to reason. Thanks for publishing it.

8212; M.K.D. Prasada Rao, Bangalore

General losers

8226; THE government now says the general quota seats will be protected and the OBC quota implementation will not be rushed through; it will be done after infusing enough funds for creating more seats in existing colleges, and opening of new colleges. There is a catch here. The government is mixing up 8217;more seats/ new colleges to come up for normal growth under the approved plans8217; with 8216;more seats/ new colleges to be created to accommodate the increased reservation quota.8217; Either way, general category students stand to lose the benefits of seat expansion, thanks to enhanced quota. Before the government talks of more seats/ new colleges to accommodate quota, it should make public the current plans of more seats/ new colleges in the next 10 years as per the already drafted Five-Year Plan, reservation or no.

8212; J.C. Gupta New Delhi

Conversion debate

8226; THE people of India are, by and large, tolerant and peaceful 8212; despite belonging to various religious groups. They practise the maxim 8220;live and let live8221;. Now it is the interference from outside India that cannot be tolerated. The outburst of Pope Benedict VXI and interference in the internal matters of India are unwarranted.

8212; K. Venkataraman Mumbai

8226; SUDHEENDRA KULKARNI 8216;Conversions: Learning from the Mahatma8217;, SE, May 21 stoops to the lowest possible levels, to justify the anti-Christian campaigns of his party associates. Overlooking the crimes of Hindutva in Adivasi areas on the pretext of 8220;forcible conversions by missionaries8221;, he goes on to cleverly distort the quotes of Mahatma Gandhi, to secure the meaning desired by his political party and its ideology. His quote of Gandhi from Harijan January 30, 1937, goes, 8220;Why should a Christian want to convert a Hindu to Christianity? Why should8230;8221; The original words as Gandhi writes in Harijan are: 8220;Why should a Christian want to convert a Hindu to Christianity or vice versa?8230;8221; Gandhi is making a broader point about the moral values of religion rather than giving importance to temples, mosques and churches or means of worship.

8212; Ram Puniyani Mumbai