Letters To The Editor

Unified Services8226; HAVING been the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee for well over a year and a half, the call by the outgoing C...

Unified Services

8226; HAVING been the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee for well over a year and a half, the call by the outgoing Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash, for a unified command bears the benefit of experience in the trials and tribulations of leading a collegiate of the service chiefs as defence managers in the country 8216;We can devise8230;8217; IE, October 23. The focus on the unified commander, however, obfuscates the larger need for continued impetus to review higher defence management in the country, which was set in motion during the tenure of the previous BJP government but seems to have petered out.

Given the current state of our defence establishment, it is evident that such an integration would, as in the US, come through an Act of Parliament, or its equivalent. It entails the restructuring not only of the three services but also of the defence ministry, the DRDO, the Ordnance Factory Board and the allied agencies operating under the defence minister today. There are enough precedents available from the organisational integration models of a variety of armed forces the world over, as well as our very own Andaman and Nicobar theatre command. Full integration of our Armed Forces at the earliest cannot be overemphasised.

8212; Rahul K. Bhonsle, New Delhi

Skimmed benefits

8226; THE opposition of various political parties to the landmark judgment of Supreme Court laying down the criteria for reservation exposes the Indian political class, which is only out to reap the harvest of vote-bank politics 8216;Layered debate8217;, IE, October 21. The Supreme Court in its first emphatic mention ever has introduced the concept of creamy layer for this category of beneficiaries. I strongly feel that politicians, irrespective of political parties, will try to bypass the court8217;s judgment by constitutional amendments. Such political opportunism masquerading as social concern deserves to be resisted. Politicians should rise above petty vote politics and do something which really helps the economically backward.

8212; Vitull K. Gupta, Bhatinda

Modi8217;s style

8226; IN his article 8216;BJP is Modi8230;8217; IE, October 21, N.K. Singh has given us an accurate picture of Narendra Modi8217;s style of functioning. The article confirms the feeling that Narendra Modi is as shrewd a politician as Indira Gandhi was. Both believed in suppressing dissidents. However, given the kind of democracy we have in India, the tactics of a Modi have become the demand of the times. Here, in India, even an independent MLA can be a chief minister and a non-elected Member of Parliament, prime minister.

8212; Harish Awasthi, New Delhi

Kudos over Corus

8226; YOUR front page news report, 8216;With 8-bn UK deal, Tatas now world8217;s No 5 in steel8217; made for interesting reading IE, October 21. This is another feather in the cap of the Tatas, as the UK-based Corus group now joins the Tata stable in an 8-billion deal. This is truly unique, since this company is five times the size of Tata Steel. Ratan Tata is a man of vision and integrity. Indian economy is growing at a fast pace and Indian companies as well as professionals are dominating the business scene across the globe. The Tata-Corus deal is a boost to Indian economy.

8212; S.N. Kabra, Mumbai