Letters to the editor

The birth centenary celebration of Bhagat Singh, symbol of Indian courage and patriotism, has been reduced to a government-sponsored tamasha hijacked by the very people...

Sacrifice centenary

8226;The birth centenary celebration of Bhagat Singh, symbol of Indian courage and patriotism, has been reduced to a government-sponsored tamasha hijacked by the very people, politicians and bureaucrats who propagate and practise the colonial legacy of exploitation and repression. I strongly believe that if Bhagat Singh had been alive he would have fought against the very people who are today celebrating his birth centenary.

Certainly, glorifying the legacy of Bhagat Singh and spreading the values he stood for 8212; especially among the youth 8212; should be a national priority. But how can those who only want to grab power and exercise it with selfish and petty motives pretend to uphold the sacrifice and ideals of Bhagat Singh? I strongly feel that all nationalist Indians must take up this task and not allow politicians to hijack this agenda. The media has an important role to play in this 8212; by publishing the ideas of a great and courageous revolutionary who is an inspiration forevery Indian.

8212; Vitull K. Gupta

Bhatinda

Babus8217; bosses

8226;The best part of M. Rajivlochan8217;s 8216;Bringing up babus8217; is his reference to N.C. Saxena8217;s observation about how the young IAS officer8217;s idealism is sapped by 8220;political interference8230; meaningless transfers and corruption below and above8221;. If any one category of people is to be reformed, it is our politicians. If our politicos are committed to transparency, many of our anti-poverty and development programmes and projects will bear fruit. But that is a tall order. Add to this, the legendary delays when matters are brought to the notice of the judiciary.

8212; Prasad Malladi

Basivireddypeta AP

Expanding HRD

8226;You have in your timely and lively editorial, 8216;Arjun vs autonomy8217; hit the nail on the head. It8217;s really unfortunate that HRD Minister Arjun Singh is bent upon enforcing his 8220;whims and choices8221; on the IIMs in the country. He is now trying the legislative route to settle his scores with these autonomous B-schools and to totally crush their extant autonomous status. It is tragic that politicians like him are allowed to destroy the world-class reputation of these B-schools. He should be rightly re-designated as the minister for human resource destruction!

8212; S.K. Gupta

Delhi

War appellation

8226;The report in your newspaper, 8220;150 yrs on, no place for 1857 British 8216;heroes8217;8221; has left me confused. The reference to the 8220;1857 British-India war8221; 8212; which the nation remembers as the First War of Independence 8212; is totally out of sync with the times. The reporter seems to have been influenced by the stories spun by British tourist bureaus. While tourists should indeed be our honoured guests 8216;atithi devo bhava8217;, any attempt to honour the enemies of our nationalist forefathers cannot be condoned. The pastor of a local church was quite correct in refusing to permit a memorial plaque to be installed in it.

8212; Akhil Kumar Das

Kuwait

What8217;s in the name?

8226;What a remarkable coincidence that on the first International Day of Non-violence, India should be represented in the UN General Assembly by a Gandhi. In fact two of them, Sonia and Rahul. They derive their lineage from Indira Gandhi, who could well have married a Parsi by another name 8212; say, a Sethna, Bhabha or Dadabhoy!

8212; Mukund B. Kunte

New Delhi