• Tiruvalluvar was a poet-saint who wrote for all humanity. A figure like him is universal and cannot be claimed by any one community alone. Nor should he be derided by others. The installation of Tiruvalluvars statue must not be considered an exercise in flaunting Tamil pride but one in increasing public awareness of such personalities. Indeed,his work Tirukkural is celebrated as A Bible to the whole world. That said,it would be ironic to reduce him to just a linguistic identity.
Raghu Seshadri
Declare in public
• It is the rational desire of most citizens to have knowledge of judges assets . Such a process helps the cause of transparency. The Supreme Court should thus lead all judges. Further,why should the judges await the passing of a law,as there is no law which prevents them from voluntarily declaring their assets as advised by Fali S. Nariman?
Parimal Y. Mehta
• Fali S. Narimans argument for judges declaring their assets is perfectly justifiable. What judges,especially those of the Supreme Court,do with the law of the land affects the whole nation. Our judges have nothing to fear. In fact,withholding information about their assets will instead lead to unnecessary suspicion among the general public. Any hint of a privileged status,of being above or beyond the law in certain respects can do irreparable damage to the image of the judiciary. Theres no need for even a national debate on this.
Bijay Kumar Dash
New Delhi
Road to future
• The passage of the Right to Education Bill in the Lok Sabha was a historic moment in our history. Never mind that it took us 60-odd years to get here; what matters is that we have finally ensured elementary education for all children in India in legal terms. This should improve the national literacy rate and,with the benefits of higher education spreading farther,mitigate income imbalances. However,reforms should not stop here as there are earlier commitments such as better school infrastructure. Increased state expenditure is thus necessary.
Manoj Parashar
Greater Noida
Better endeavours
• This refers to Mandal modified . Once again,another attempt by Nitish Kumar to identify Mahadalits has raised controversy. Such lists piled upon lists serve one purpose: to further impress social stigmas best forgotten on the public mind,let alone the clamour for competitive redistribution of social benefits. Since theres a mechanism for affirmative action in place,politicians shouldnt complicate its operation. Nitish Kumars lists are a political gimmick,in the guise of development strategy. The Bihar CM should instead implement welfare programmes to benefit all Dalits.
Sujit Kumar
New Delhi
