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The General Vs government
General VK Singh’s age row, as expected, has reached the Supreme Court for the final bout. The General is upset with the manner the defence ministry has handled the issue. Given that his high school certificate and other documents explicitly mention his date of birth to be May 10, 1951, as claimed by him, he seems to be on a strong wicket. If the SC rules in his favour, it will embarrass the government that has been involved in a series of gaffes recently, like Anna Hazare’s arrest and the midnight raid on Baba Ramdev. Given that Singh is the leader of the million-plus Indian Army, the government should have been proactive in resolving this highly-sensitive matter. The matter should not have reached this far. The fact that it has reflects a general mistrust, indecision and lack of coordination at the highest level and also dents the country’s image globally.
—Gauri Aayeer
Hard-hitting
This refers to the article by Kanchan Gupta — ‘Cong’s no-limit, interest-free minority card’ (January 20). I had never read a more hard-hitting indictment of Congress party’s Muslim appeasement policy for narrow electoral gains. The author deserves praise for his forthright attitude as it is not considered politically ‘correct’ to condemn communal politics, except if it is BJP’s Hindutwa, if you want to be acclaimed a secular intellectual in this country. Successive Congress governments have developed the Muslim appeasement policy into a fine art. As a result, the two major communities, Hindus and Muslims, remain completely polarized till date. The fact that this pandering to the Muslim fundamentalists has not helped the Muslim community at large is borne out by the fact that the Muslims are backward even 65 years after Independence. That is precisely why the Muslims do not want any dole out from the government and want to be left alone to take care of themselves without the political parties using them as pawns in their electoral game.
—Subramanian Venkataraman
Literary blunder
The article on artist Milon Mukhopadhyay by Francis H D’sa was a super description of his life and work but the concluding paragraph gave the impression that the artist is no more. The description alongside his photograph also mentioned that “the painter … will be sorely missed by the world of art” appears to be a literary blunder. The article left readers like me speechless, having met the artist just a few hours ago at an exhibition. With the high literary standards set by a newspaper like yours, such poor editorial copy disappoints readers. One hopes that the editorial team is more alert towards contributions by its writers.
—Dr Rajan TD
Pak court and Gilani
This refers to the report ‘Gilani courts justice to fight another day’ (January 20). The Pakistan Supreme Court has shown its arrogance in slapping contempt of court notice against the country’s prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The judges are massaging their ego by abusing the contempt law. Gilani is right in saying that if the court proceeds against an elected president (two-third majority), it will not give a good message to the people of Pakistan. Lawyers shouted against the government outside the Supreme Court, when the hearing was in progress — was that not contempt of court? Are the lawyers above the contempt law? Is a litigant bound to obey an illegal order of the court? Don’t the litigants need to be protected from the abuse of the contempt law? What about contempt of litigants? Think of a situation: Gilani is forced to resign by the Supreme Court and the new government sends a request letter to Swiss authorities to provide details on the alleged money laundering by Zardari. If the Swiss authorities do not act, will the court then not become a laughing stock? The judiciary in Pakistan seems to be acting at the behest of the military. President Zardari enjoys immunity both under the Constitution and the Vienna Convention. Can the court interfere in an international convention and does the Pakistan Supreme Court have the jurisdiction?
—Deendayal M Lulla
Delay in road work
Apropos of ‘Dug-up road irks 1L motorists a day’ (January 20), it is indeed because of sheer callousness of the BMC that the citizens have to suffer. The lack of co-ordination between two wings in the civic body — the F-North ward and the central agency — is causing this unpardonable inconvenience. This 100-metre portion of the Dr BA Road at Dadar is a vital link connecting the suburban traffic to the city. It has been a month now this portion is lying as it is and this has been causing massive traffic snarls at King’s Circle at Wadala and Matunga. The minister concerned should take it
up and order immediate action to restore this stretch of road to ease the lives of motorists.
—Bikram Banerjea
General VK Singh’s age row, as expected, has reached the Supreme Court for the final bout. The General is upset with the manner the defence ministry has handled the issue. Given that his high school certificate and other documents explicitly mention his date of birth to be May 10, 1951, as claimed by him, he seems to be on a strong wicket. If the SC rules in his favour, it will embarrass the government that has been involved in a series of gaffes recently, like Anna Hazare’s arrest and the midnight raid on Baba Ramdev. Given that Singh is the leader of the million-plus Indian Army, the government should have been proactive in resolving this highly-sensitive matter. The matter should not have reached this far. The fact that it has reflects a general mistrust, indecision and lack of coordination at the highest level and also dents the country’s image globally.
—Gauri Aayeer
Hard-hitting
This refers to the article by Kanchan Gupta — ‘Cong’s no-limit, interest-free minority card’ (January 20). I had never read a more hard-hitting indictment of Congress party’s Muslim appeasement policy for narrow electoral gains. The author deserves praise for his forthright attitude as it is not considered politically ‘correct’ to condemn communal politics, except if it is BJP’s Hindutwa, if you want to be acclaimed a secular intellectual in this country. Successive Congress governments have developed the Muslim appeasement policy into a fine art. As a result, the two major communities, Hindus and Muslims, remain completely polarized till date. The fact that this pandering to the Muslim fundamentalists has not helped the Muslim community at large is borne out by the fact that the Muslims are backward even 65 years after Independence. That is precisely why the Muslims do not want any dole out from the government and want to be left alone to take care of themselves without the political parties using them as pawns in their electoral game.
—Subramanian Venkataraman
Literary blunder
The article on artist Milon Mukhopadhyay by Francis H D’sa was a super description of his life and work but the concluding paragraph gave the impression that the artist is no more. The description alongside his photograph also mentioned that “the painter … will be sorely missed by the world of art” appears to be a literary blunder. The article left readers like me speechless, having met the artist just a few hours ago at an exhibition. With the high literary standards set by a newspaper like yours, such poor editorial copy disappoints readers. One hopes that the editorial team is more alert towards contributions by its writers.
—Dr Rajan TD
Pak court and Gilani
This refers to the report ‘Gilani courts justice to fight another day’ (January 20). The Pakistan Supreme Court has shown its arrogance in slapping contempt of court notice against the country’s prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The judges are massaging their ego by abusing the contempt law. Gilani is right in saying that if the court proceeds against an elected president (two-third majority), it will not give a good message to the people of Pakistan. Lawyers shouted against the government outside the Supreme Court, when the hearing was in progress — was that not contempt of court? Are the lawyers above the contempt law? Is a litigant bound to obey an illegal order of the court? Don’t the litigants need to be protected from the abuse of the contempt law? What about contempt of litigants? Think of a situation: Gilani is forced to resign by the Supreme Court and the new government sends a request letter to Swiss authorities to provide details on the alleged money laundering by Zardari. If the Swiss authorities do not act, will the court then not become a laughing stock? The judiciary in Pakistan seems to be acting at the behest of the military. President Zardari enjoys immunity both under the Constitution and the Vienna Convention. Can the court interfere in an international convention and does the Pakistan Supreme Court have the jurisdiction?
—Deendayal M Lulla
Delay in road work
Apropos of ‘Dug-up road irks 1L motorists a day’ (January 20), it is indeed because of sheer callousness of the BMC that the citizens have to suffer. The lack of co-ordination between two wings in the civic body — the F-North ward and the central agency — is causing this unpardonable inconvenience. This 100-metre portion of the Dr BA Road at Dadar is a vital link connecting the suburban traffic to the city. It has been a month now this portion is lying as it is and this has been causing massive traffic snarls at King’s Circle at Wadala and Matunga. The minister concerned should take it
up and order immediate action to restore this stretch of road to ease the lives of motorists.
—Bikram Banerjea
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