Unhelpful fuss

8226; The furore over the cash for questions scandal is so predictable, so unhelpful. Moral outra...

8226; The furore over the cash for questions scandal is so predictable, so unhelpful. Moral outrage is the easy way out of taking a more thoughtful position and then following it through. The institution of Parliament has been in decline for a long time. We need to think about it seriously. And we need to see Parliament in its relationships with other institutions, set in a wider political culture. Only then will any prescriptions make sense.

8212; Manisha Sharma Panipat

The word is out

8226; It is not only shocking but enormously disturbing to note that Pramod Mahajan, a leader of a so-called national party, speaks in such narrow regional terms as he reportedly did recently in Mumbai. Unfortunately, almost all politicians espouse narrowminded causes with an eye on the vote bank. They
unabashedly promote inequalities and barriers on the basis of language, religion and caste. Equally disturbing is the tendency of political leaders to blame the press for being misquoted when caught on the wrong foot.

8212; K.R.P. Gupta Delhi

Inhospitable place

8226; If Nitish Kumar is right and if Biharis who migrated to other states have massively contributed to the development of those states, then he must do something to keep Biharis in Bihar. He should make Bihar hospitable again for Biharis instead of making statements about how Mumbai belongs to the nation. Let him see the degrading conditions in which most of the migrant Biharis are living in the metropolis.

8212; Arun Ogale Nashik

Yet more records

8226; There is no world left for Sachin to conquer. He has already conquered Gavaskar8217;s world and Bradman8217;s too, wherever he is resting in peace. I must confess that misled by his poor performance due to lack of physical fitness, I too had begun to believe that Sachin is a spent force. I am overjoyed to be proved wrong. Sachin has yet to go a long way. Who knows what records he may set in the future?

8212; M.C. Joshi Mumbai

Patently unfair

8226; Our politicians have done it again. They have flagarantly disregarded our Constitution and done something patently unfair. What is to stop them from making a law enforcing quotas on private sector employers next? We are 15 years into the post-Mandal era. Has anyone any clue as to when the quota regime will end? I understand that wrongs were committed in the past, but are quotas doing anything to correct that? Quotas are exploited by the assertive and well-to-do middle castes. They haven8217;t done anything for the poorest of the poor. Look at Tamil Nadu. The Thevars regularly harass the Dalits and make movies glorifying the same. Brahmins are persona non grata. We are not fostering any equality, just changing the balance. Sadly the well-off will pack off their kids to study abroad, and the well connected will pull strings and get seats for their children. The ones to suffer will be those wretched souls who were born dirt poor and 8216;upper8217; class. It8217;s high time we made all quotas dependent on economic status.

8212; Pradyot Dhulipala New York