Opinion Look inwards

Faridabad

Nothing new

• While the Gujarat government’s ban on Jaswant Singh’s book is uncalled for,the assumption that such action is a recent phenomenon is itself erroneous . Contrary to common perceptions and myths spun by India’s many historians,such intolerance was evidently alive in Nehru’s time. Take the simple example of Nine Hours to Rama,dealing with Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. Nehru’s government banned that. One wonders whether parallels can be drawn between past actions and the Modi government’s ban on Singh’s book.

— Vijay S. Jodha

Noida

Rerouting resources

• It continues to confuse many as to why after so many years of meticulous planning and regular expenditure of public monies we are still unable to come up with a longlasting solution to both flooding and droughts. Our scientists and scholars continue to struggle with this issue. Perhaps what’s needed is a sincere effort to use excess water in areas affected by drought. Scientists need to look into the issue of better resource allocation.

— Devendra P. Tiwary

Patna

Theory & practice

• MPs and MLAs declaring their assets is nothing new,but does it truly serve its purpose? It has been the case that many details put in the public domain are untrue. Naturally,we’re skeptical when known multimillionaires disguise their assets. Now that the case for transparency is alive amongst the judiciary,one can only hope that the practice of the legislators is not impressed upon the judges. The government needs to start thinking about the right medium through which declarations can be made,whom,for instance,will judges disclose their assets to. Before we get too embroiled in the debate we must remember the practicalities.

— Raghu Seshadri

Chennai