May we move on?

Unnecessary, this

• It is indeed shocking that Dr Manmohan Singh made an unnecessary mention of the alleged difference in opinion with his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the Indo-US nuclear treaty during his closed-door meeting with Bush in New York. Not only BJP but Congress’s own ally, CPI, has also objected to the PM’s reference to domestic politics in an international dialogue. Even more surprising is the fact that the Indian spokesperson chose to disclose this controversial part of the closed-door talks to the media.

— Subhash C. Agrawal Delhi

Divine rights

• A nationwide debate on whether a religious body should be allowed to run an academic institution in this secular country seems to have been whipped up by the principal of Delhi’s St. Stephen’s College, Dr Anil Wilson. He very aptly questioned the ‘‘divine rights’’ of ecclesiastical heads to chair institutions dealing with “matters like health and education where they have little or no expertise.” It is unfortunate for this country that its Constitution provides religious reservations in academic institutions run by the so-called minority communities. Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution provide discriminatory rights to minority communities to establish and manage their educational institutions. This provision may suppress the secular spirit of scholars like Wilson.

— Balram Misra New Delhi

What priorities!

• The UPA has turned down the IAF’s request for a separate Aerospace Command because it is “prohibitively expensive” at Rs 250-300 crore. (‘Govt caps commands per service at 7, rejects aerospace plan’, IE, September 15). Yet the government does not bat an eyelid over spending hundreds of crores to set up a Technical Training Institute for Petroleum in Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Amethi (which is over a thousand kilometres from the nearest oil-field), nor at setting up a wheel-and-axle plant at Laloo Yadav’s Chhapra, when the existing plants at Bangalore and Kapurthala are running way below capacity — the squander-list is endless.

— R.P. Subramanian Delhi

Higher, still

• The government has rightly restricted the IIT admission to class XII students who get a first division. In fact, it should be a minimum of 75 per cent, as today, 60 per cent has no relevance for IIT and similar exams. A student with even 90 per cent or more does not get admission to her choice of college or course. For all school and college examinations, the criteria for I & II division should be changed to 75 per cent and 60 per cent respectively. Below 60 per cent, should be III division. And the pass percentage should be 50 per cent.

— Mahesh Kapasi On e-mail