Opinion On our own
The latest US posture over Af-Pak is of grave concern. Of late,there has been a sea change in the attitude of both Pakistan and China towards India.....
Shekhar Gupta has come up with a sound analysis of the disturbing developments in our neighbourhood (Them and US,IE,March 6). The latest US posture over Af-Pak is of grave concern. Of late,there has been a sea change in the attitude of both Pakistan and China towards India. Since we cant for ever outsource countering of our terror threats to the US,there is an imminent need to take a holistic view of the emerging situation. Ultimately India will have to fight of its own Pak-sponsored terrorism. Its time to invigorate our intelligence networks and skills and technologically upgrade our security forces. We must re-formulate our strategies to take on the India-specific LeT and other
terrorist outfits. The nation cannot afford another 26/11.
S.K. Gupta Chandigarh
Private arms
Bibek Debroy has raised a very pertinent point about permitting private security agencies to hold small arms in their inventory (Arms and the agency,IE,March 8). Individuals holding weapons are given the licence for self-defence purposes only. Hence,these security guards using their arms as security firm assets is illegal. Thus no guard will be willing to open fire on miscreants trying to loot an ATM or a shop. Besides,these guards are left to fend for themselves in case of legal complications. Also,if security agencies/ industrial organisations are given the licence to hold weapons,then these can be maintained properly,with proper training given to security personnel. Since its impossible to have such a large number of CISF/ state reserve police for guarding private businesses,arming well-trained private security personnel is unavoidable.
Furthermore,Debroy has indicated very briefly the meagre average salary of these private guards. Theres a lot to be done to enhance the efficiency,professionalism and morale of these personnel who will be our first line of defence against any subversive activity.
D.K. Mishra Jamnagar
Debate it
In addition to what the editorial What a charade (IE,March 9) says,the statistics given under the tabulation A world of women are telling. There are also telling observations made by Pratap Bhanu Mehta in One-third done. How mysterious is it for the Left,the BJP and the Congress to have overlooked the flaws in the bill,and could it be that they didnt consider what other countries have been doing? The bill needs to be debated comprehensively,so that necessary amendments can be made.
Kedarnath R. Aiyar
State failure
This refers to the editorial Love & honour (IE,March 6). State governments are responsible for rising honour killings in north India. These caste panchayats are the Indian version of the Taliban. They are not restricted to threatening,but are ordering punishment and excommunication. Despite these panchayats being unconstitutional,states have failed to crack down on them because of compulsions of caste-based vote bank politics.
Manoj Parashar
Greater Noida
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