• This refers to the thought-provoking editorial ‘Chinese whispers’. It’s really a matter of concern that China is interfering in India’s internal affairs. One fails to understand its locus standi in questioning our prime minister’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which is very much an integral part of India. While on the one hand China is engaging India in resolving the boundary disputes, on the other it is vitiating the cordial atmosphere which began with the bilateral dialogue in 2003. Further, as per media reports, there have been sporadic instances of intrusions into Indian territory in the Northeast by the People’s Liberation Army of China. It is a different matter that the UPA government has downplayed them. However, if New Delhi now fails to convey its clear stand, in the matter of Arunachal Pradesh, to China, it could snowball into a bigger crisis.It is also incumbent upon the UPA government to share the “truth” about the “Chinese whispers” with the public in the larger national interest. The nation can’t afford a repeat of 1962. — S.K. GuptaDelhiMap on mind• Arun Shourie’s ‘Shilpa Shetty trumps Arunachal again’ on China’s claim to our northern border areas and the messy business about the prime minister’s recent visit to Arunachal attracted my attention. Geographical maps, as pointed out in Shourie’s learned piece, have great significance. Here is an incident of 1981 that might interest your readers.Those days I used to help Indira Gandhi keep up with her French. One day when we were going over a book which had a map of India, her immediate reaction was: “Oh, a map. we must look at it very carefully!” So, there you have it first hand. The prime minister was concerned about the map and how India was projected in it.— Anuradha Kunte New DelhiNREGS to NGOs • With good hope, the Central government has made provision for rural employment under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. In this connection, Aruna Roy and Indira Hirway have pointed out some basic issues about such schemes (IE, February 1). In my opinion, if we want to pay attention to rural India and rural employment, NGOs are the most useful agencies for implementation.Allotment of funds is not enough. We need viable planning and execution, which is not possible without constant supervision by honest and selfless persons. Secondly, rural development schemes are not about wealth creation; creation of social goods is the crux. Therefore they should be extended to social service sector, such as medical, health, education, hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, etc. These sectors are working in very poor conditions and should be strengthened on a priority basis. Due to a lack of awareness, many such schemes have failed to yield the expected results. Many social and religious NGOs are good at handling the kind of schemes the government designs from time to time. Why not give them an opportunity to implement NREGS?— P.M. PandyaNadiadA divide in Sangh? • Why is the ‘nationalist’ RSS still keeping mum over the Thackeray parivar’s rhetoric and brutal attacks against fellow Indians? How can it dream of ‘Akhand Bharat’ when it remains a silent spectator of what is happening in the home state of its headquarters? Does it think the hate victims in Mumbai are not Hindus? Or, is the RSS too against north Indians? — Andalib AkhterNew Delhi
