The real issues

8226; While holding no brief for Swami Ramdev, I feel that Brinda Karat8217;s allegations that t...

8226; While holding no brief for Swami Ramdev, I feel that Brinda Karat8217;s allegations that the Ayurvedic medicines produced by Ramdev8217;s pharmacy had 8216;human and animal8217; traces, is driven not by her concern for vegetarians but by some other agenda. It is well known that Ramdev has been promoting good health through pranayama and yoga, and has been forcefully highlighting the ill effects of colas and the exploitation of drug multinationals. Why did Karat not protest when the oil mafia involved in the mass adulteration of petrol killed an honest officer like
S. Manjunath? Why is she silent on the issue of over-priced drugs? These issues are of more concern to people than the quality of Ramdev8217;s medicines.

8212; Kishore Karnad Baroda

Point of order

8226; It was amazing to see the paradox presented by your newspaper, in the edit page of January 4. Saeed Naqvi, in his article, exhorts us on the importance of complete journalism. 8216;Thou shall not presume8217; is probably one of the golden rules of journalism. Yet, on the same page itself, the editorial entitled, 8216;Dial G for government8217;, carries a line full of presumptions. It reads, 8220;you are a teenager for whom MMS is horribly passe and an I-pod phone, no longer a novelty, you will consider the telephone8230;8221; The writer obviously has a specific segment in mind, but does not feel the need to specify what it is. The writer probably also presumes that The Indian Express is read by high-fliers in the metros alone. I am no communist/socialist, but please specify who are you talking about when you make statements like this. I can8217;t think of many teenagers in Mumbai, or the world, for whom an I-pod is passe!

8212; Srijan Narayan Mumbai

Predictable formula

8226; Within two days, the populist measures taken by legislatures to provide reservations to Muslims in government jobs and educational institutions have been declared as 8216;unconstitutional8217; by the courts. Irrespective of whether or not this can be inferred to be a response from the courts to the consensual insensitivity shown by legislators in overturning judicial judgments, it definitely is a reflection on the poor quality of thinking on the part of our politicians for whom 8216;reservations8217; have become a panacea for all ills.

8212; Gaurav Dua Delhi

School quotas?

8226; This is with regard to your report on the Supreme Court upholding the AP High Court judgment declaring as unconstitutional a law providing reservations for Muslims in jobs and educational institutions in that state IE, January 5. The reservation system, on the whole, is more often misused than used. It8217;s time to abolish the special privileges accorded to certain castes. In matters of specialised education like medicine, engineering and law, only merit should count. The reservation system should, at the most, be implemented at the primary and secondary level. Thereafter, employment should be offered solely on the basis of academic record and expertise.

8212; S. Krishna Kumar Mumbai

Tailpiece

8226; The Left opposes disinvestment of Neyveli Lignite Corpn, PFC, HUDCO and NMDC because they are 8220;profit-making PSUs8221;. To solve the problem, the government should immediately hand over the management of these PSUs to the Left. Within a year or so, they will doubtless become loss making and can be disinvested!

8212; R.P. Subramanian Delhi