Opinion Fun of ban
Salman Rushdies The Satanic Verses is reportedly not his best book
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Fun of ban
Salman Rushdies The Satanic Verses is reportedly not his best book. However,that does not reduce the need to uphold the written word. Those who read do not burn books,nor come out in the street with death threats even when they thoroughly dislike a book. All that fanatics,whether hounding out M.F. Husain or Rushdie,have to do is either close the book or look away. But then wed be a liberal and tolerant society. Theres no fun without a ban.
S.C. Baxi
Different yardstick
THIS refers to the editorial Going ballistic (IE,January 27). Without going into the merits of the action taken against the ISRO scientists,its significant that a different yardstick has been applied in taking the decision. The 2G scandal was a much bigger one which created a furore but it needed a PIL and heavy prodding from the Supreme Court to make the government move. In the ISRO case,the accused were not even given a chance to explain their position. Reason? Politicians were involved in the 2G scam.
S. Rajagopalan
Read to think
Javed Anands Where life isnt sacred (IE,January 26) was very balanced and made you think. If the translation of this article is published in regional languages and Hindi,it will serve a bigger purpose as it will be read by more people from the middle and lower-middle class the people who are generally misdirected easily by their leaders.
Hemant Bhorkhade
Amravati
Weeding cards
THIS refers to Ila Patnaiks UID as Users ID (IE,January 27). Its difficult to eradicate corruption. Unique steps and policy instruments can be framed to tackle this problem from the very bottom. Identification of BPL families so that government spending reaches the targeted population has been a subject of contention. Consistent measures are still lacking. A biometric identification system will be effective,giving people the right basis to raise their voice if something goes wrong,thereby ensuring transparency and accountability. The biometric system can be linked to bank accounts,since most cash transfer programmes are through bank accounts. Of course,no one is arguing it would absolutely eradicate corruption; but it will minimise it to a great extent.
Ayon Sarkar
New Delhi
Poll wars
Neither the Congress nor the SAD-BJP combine is giving an inch because each seat matters and every vote is a swing vote. Punjab still remains largely an agrarian economy. The rural and semi-rural economy has been the focus of politics where party manifestos try to outdo each other in offering sops. This competitive fiscal harakiri worked well electorally but failed miserably on the balance sheet. Also,the politics of vendetta has replaced the politics of development. Personality cults and clans have overshadowed the state.
Karan Thakur
New Delhi
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