Letters to the editor

Insular assessment8226; If 8216;Mumbai is an island8217; IE, February 6, so is the mind of Kumar Ketkar, I daresay. The writer of the p...

Insular assessment

8226; If 8216;Mumbai is an island8217; IE, February 6, so is the mind of Kumar Ketkar, I daresay. The writer of the piece is wrong on all fronts. This time it is not that the Marathi Manoos only who voted for the SS-BJP alliance. Hindus have voted for the SS-BJP because of various factors, including the post-1993 blast judgment, the train serial blasts, and the recent appeasement policies of the Congress and NCP, courtesy Arjun Singh, Manmohan Singh, et al. Maybe in the beginning, when the Shiv Sena was born, the Marathi Manoos mantra clicked; but today Shiv Sena is being accepted as the only bold protector of Hindutva. Ketkar, it seems, has not accepted this.

8212; Kedarnath Aiyar, Mumbai

Let peace flow

8226; The Cauvery verdict gives 419 tmcft out of 562 deficit-143 claimed to TN; and 270 tmcft out of 465 deficit-135 claimed to Karnataka, which seems to be fair. Additionally, among the positive aspects is the fact that Biligundu, instead of Mettur, is recognised for releasing water. Karnataka can use the surplus water and increase its irrigation acreage apart from ensuring irrigation to the existing 18 lakh acreage inherent in the release of only 192 tmcft instead of 205 at Biligundu as per interim award and acceptance of the ground water argument put forth by Karnataka. In fact the Bar Council of India has opined that the award is fair. There need not be any further squabble over the issue and political parties and others will do well to maintain peace and goodwill.

8212; V.S. Ganeshan, Bangalore

Accountable, just

8226; This refers to the recent statement of Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan in a TV interview, dismissing the proposal that Supreme Court and high court judges compulsorily declare their assets. The argument that no self-respecting person will accept the compulsory annual declaration of wealth and assets implies that those who declare their assets have no self-respect. Similarly, the CJI rejecting the idea of scrutiny of judges by a panel of judges that includes lay persons needs critiquing. I believe if a lay person can judge the medical treatment given by a doctor under the Consumer Protection Act , we don8217;t have to question the ability of a lay person to judge a judge. If a lay person can be defence minister, home minister, finance minister, or education minister, why reject the idea of involving a lay person in the National Judicial Council?

8212; Vitull K. Gupta, Bhatinda

Securing growth

8226; It is heartening to read that India8217;s foreign reserves have risen to 180 billion from a measly 1 billion in 1991 and growth rate is racing towards double digits, but worrying to see the finance minister scurrying to check inflation while banks have upped savings interest rate to over 9.5 per cent for senior citizens. The latest issue of The Economist has dealt with it in detail. But what is more worrying is that the Armed Forces are being beefed up to guard our nuclear and strategic assets, without a proper set-up of command and control recommended by the Kargil Committee, and without learning the lessons from the wars we have fought. Reaction time and proper politico-military coordination are going to be crucial, as the region is unstable. We sorely lacked this in the Kargil half-war and in Operation Parakaram.

8212; Cmde retd Ranjit B. Rai, New Delhi