• We fully endorse Professor Bina Agarwal’s proposal to amend the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat Application) Act, 1937, to delete the phrase “save questions relations to agricultural land” and request the Central government to move a bill to this effect in the Winter session of Parliament (‘Women’s inheritance: next steps’, IE, Oct 17). — Syed Shahabuddin New Delhi Nuclear energy • While China, with Russian co-operation, is starting its largest nuclear power generator of 1060 megawatts capacity in Jiangsu province, our Marxist intellectuals are engaged in putting spokes in the wheel of India’s progress, as it attempts to move towards power generation. There is no long-term alternative to the nuclear option. One wishes that the Left removes its blinkers and reflects on India’s approach to nuclear realism spelt out with clarity by our foreign secretary. — Mukund B. Kunte New Delhi One question • This is with reference to the stinging remarks of the Supreme Court against “illegal” VVIP occupants. According to a Express Newsline report, one of these worthies is not “an unauthorised occupant” and is paying Rs 1.75 lakhs per month, according to his alter ego. One wonders as to where he is getting so much money to pay the rent considering his humble background. Or is its being met out of UP’s budget? — M.K.D. Prasada Rao Ghaziabad • The Supreme Court has rightly asked overstaying politicians, bureaucrats, journalists and artistes to stop living in their official bungalows. Also there should be a rule that in case allottees own a residential house in the city of their service, no official residence shall be allotted to them. — Mahesh Kapasi New Delhi In J&K, move on • Apropos of the article, ‘Mufti must remain CM’ (IE, Oct 24), one feels the writer has based her piece on a press note issued by the J&K Information department! All the achievements of the Mufti government can be disputed. But what is of even more concern is the phobia that the writer, and many others, betray about the sensitivities of Kashmiri Muslims. What about the sensitivities of other sections of the people of J&K, who together constitute 65 per cent of the state’s population? Continuing to harp on this will only further alienate the people in other parts of the state and strengthen the impression that their loyalty to Indian nationalism is a disadvantage. — Yash Bhasin Jammu • The Congress should come to power in J&K for various reasons. One, after the earthquake, there is a necessity to rebuild. The maximum help can be obtained from the Jammu region, which is relatively unaffected by the disaster. Two, in a sense, the role of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was that of the war-time Churchill. Now that the war is over, somebody else should take charge. Three, the future belongs to younger leaders. Four, the development of Kashmir will be through new, greenfield projects in bio-technology and IT and you need people who have the right connections to take charge. — Pradeep Singh New Delhi
