Walmart spent a whopping fortune lobbying India entry (Organiser, 11.12.11) The bombshell burst over Bharat as our Prime Minister announced that Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour will take care and nurture our Indian economy with their 51 per cent stake in the retail segment of our trade sector. Perhaps this is the last gamble our PM is playing not realising that he will unleash an economic crisis that will lead to disastrous consequences by drawing the shutters of our neighbourhood stores where each and everyone of us has a personal rapport with the friendly shopkeeper. The chasm between the rich and poor will further widen leaving the poor no choice except to retire to the Himalayas or drown themselves in the Indian Ocean. This move will hit the poor harder than the rich. This will be suicidal for the small traders. Why cannot our eminent economist of international reputation open his eyes and visualise the havoc he will be unleashing on the people of Bharat. Is he totally blind, utterly insensitive or lost his way, leading us to the brink of disaster? Already a foreigner heads our country, entrenching herself and heir apparent and now the economy of our country is being handed over to multinational merchants. Mr Prime Minister, public attitudes are changing. People demand transparency and have started questioning the policies of UPA government and any move in any field is looked upon with suspicion for the track record set up in these six years has disillusioned the people. The citizens of Bharat are not stupid but foresighted and they can see what is in store for them if their Prime Minister is adamant in letting foreign investment in and break up the already fragile economy. The elected members need courage and commitment to look beyond and thwart the entry of multinational peddlers into our vital economic sector.
—Shanta Dyuthikar
39, 15th Cross, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru 3
Indian culture: Is it undergoing a change? (Organiser, 30.10.11); This refers to ‘Indian culture: Is it undergoing a change?’ by MV Kamath, in Deepavali Special of Organiser. What is changing, has been discussed briefly by Shri Kamath. But, why it is changing and who is responsible for it has not been touched at all. There is certainly fast degradation in moral values as accepted in the writeup. Even British rulers, although foreigners, had full regards and gave due respect to our cultural values and ancient scriptures, while framing laws. There was no co-education in schools and colleges, no provision for divorce in law and it was considered as a taboo in our culture, no division of immovable property between brothers and sisters as daughters were supposed to be permanent part of inlaws family and got full respect as daughters, there was no encouragement to alcoholic drinks and non-vegetarian food as it is being done now after Independence. After August 15, 1947, the destiny of country came into the hands of Jawaharlal Nehru, who alone was more powerful than all the Congress leaders including Sardar Patel, put together. It was mainly so, because Nehru had the full backing of Mahatma Gandhi, who was more than God for Congress men. Nehru had all those possible ills and bad habits in his private life, which are considered very bad. He indulged in alcoholic drinks, chain smoking, meat eating (even beef) illegal relations with other women, contempt for anything Hindus or Indian, and what not. He encouraged all these ills through government agencies and laws. The thorns sown by Nehru are steadily becoming stronger and stronger. A stage has come, that good people are laughed at as narrow minded. New generation does not get samskaras from their parents but from the TV, print media, co-educational boy-friend girl-friend culture. For raising moral values, great efforts are needed, but for downfall much efforts are not required. There is complete boycott of moral values.
—Anand Prakash,
72/Sector-8, Panchkula-134 109
Advocating Islam (Organiser, 6.11.11); This is with reference to the letter of Shri Anand Mishra ‘Abhay’ ‘Advocating Islam’ countering my viewpoint on museums of western countries fortified with artifacts plundered form India published in your esteemed weekly dated 25.9.11 in ‘Reader’s Forum’ page, under the title, ‘European, American Museums: Fortified Havens for Plunder from India. Shri Abhay might be a member of the ‘Think Tank’ based at Sanskriti Bhavan, Lucknow, but it seems he is an emotional preacher of Hindutva rather than a cool minded academician. As a Muslim , I have the duty to remove the misunderstandings casued due to ill-informed writings appearing in the esteemed weekly ranging from religion to history. If anyone differs from my point of view, he/she has the right to politely write, as I do and let others know the truth. I am a truth seeker and a humble student of Indian history. I do not write with a preconceived motive. Shri Abhay has raised many a historical issues, mostly written by me and published in the esteemed weekly, yet either he is dissatisfied with my remarks or simply ignores it to instigate your readers.
—Tanvir Fatima, Sandesh Bhavan, Lakkad kote, Chatta Bazar, Hyderabad-2
Manmohan not serious about exposing corruption (Organiser, 4.9.11); This is with reference to your front page news item ‘Manmohan not serious about exposing corruption’ by Naresh Minocha. Congress is the second name of corruption. Corruption is life, blood and livelihood of the Congress. How can any sane person expect Congress to give up power by succumbing to nobel ethics? I can foresee that Congress will somehow try to check Team Anna by hook or crock but will not expose or take any action on its corrupt party workers because it will be suicidal for it. Our PM has accepted that the spirit of idealism and self-sacrifice are only for general public and not for Congress. The article is highly educative, thought provoking and exposes crookedness and corruption-tainted character of Congress. We all know that Congress can give up power but not corrupt practices. We all should unite and alert masses and route out corruption i.e. Congress in near future to save mother India.
—Pramod Prabhakar Valsangkar,
Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad-500 060
UPA has once again blamed the NDA In its increasingly desperate effort to avoid being sucked deeper into the quicksand called the 2G Spectrum Scam, the UPA has once again blamed the NDA, saying it had merely followed the latter’s telecom policy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. While the NDA government had indeed followed the policy of first come first served route while giving telecom licences, the Telecom Ministry under A Raja manipulated the system by favouring fly-by-night operators and selected firms by taking recourse to dubious means—for example by changing dates on short notice. The NDA was always in the loop with respect to the fixing of prices for licences by its Telecome Minister. On the other hand Dayanidhi Maran and later A Raja, as Telecom ministers, acted in surreptitious manner for obvious reasons, exploiting the fact that the Congress needed the support of DMK to survive in power. While it is true that A Raja does have a point when he claims that both the PM and the then Finance Minister were fully informed about his decision to allocate spectrum in a particular manner, which was meant to act as a cover for his misdeeds, neither Manmohan Singh now Chidambaram has admitted the fact. That does not mean that they are speaking the truth; infact they have been found misleading everybody.
—Mahesh Chandra Sharma,
E-198, Panki, Kanpur
Why to divide UP? The decision to introduce legislation splitting Uttar Pradesh into four smaller states cannot be taken at face value. There is a large political message hidden in the proposed trifurcation of UP. Division of the State into form parts is like a gamble that Mayawati hopes will work. If Mayawati was serious about splitting the State, she could have done so in the last four-and-a half years. Faced with corruption charges and perhaps anti-incumbency, Mayawati is trying to divert attention and split the Opposition.
—Ranjana Upadhyaya, Lucknow
AFSPA’s removal will not get peace in the Valley Union Minister for Defence AK Antony is right in observing that it would be imprudent to list AFSPA with the concurrence of the Army which has the best understanding of ground realities. AFSPA is a time-tested Act which has brought peace in many parts of the country where it has been deployed. The Jammu & Kashmir problem is primarily political in nature that has led to the failure of administration to control anti-national activities. Thus it is necessary to retain AFSPA for the time being in order to maintain public order. Withdrawing AFSPA will effect the Army’s ability to conduct efficiently and resolutely anti-insurgency operations. It is not advisable to withdraw the Act in view of intelligence inputs that 2,500 trained militants are waiting in as many as 42 camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir to enter the Valley. The removal of AFSPA will not buy peace for Indian leaders. Rather government will weaken itself and will discourage the security forces despite the good work done by them.
—Bibhu Dutt Patel, Odissa
Muslims demand reservation It is not surprising that some Muslim leaders are demanding reservation for the Muslims and want to barter this demand for votes. They have always played politics with religion. Muslims today have excelled in every sphere of life and they are not deprived of equal opportunity unlike the SC and ST(Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) who faced social segregation for decades and in some places they are still facing it. On the other hand Muslims have an astounding presence in the entertainment business in the mass communication sector and business. So the demand for a quota for Muslims is both ludicrous and dangerous for the unity of the country.
—Manish Garg, Noida
Why being kept off the gallows? Most countries in the world award tough punishment to those who perpetrate terror or kill people. The death sentence awarded to the killer of Punjab governor Salman Taseer by a Pakistani anti-terror court is a case in point. Sadly in India the case is different. Afzal convicted of conspiracy in December 2001 attack on Parliament and Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured during the 26/11 attacks were awarded death sentences long back. But they are being kept off the gallows and crores of rupees have been spent on them.
—Ritha Sagar, Chennai
India’s Defence is in shambles! Our Air Defence Chief asserted that India is capable of carrying out operation like the one done by USA in Attobabad in Pakistan. But when an ocean going Merchant Vessel pierces through the three corridors of barriers in Mumbai, making a mockery of our Navy, Coastguards and the Police, it appears that such claims are worthless. We have neither got political will nor administrative competence and expertise. Ironically, Shri Chidambaram, who has boasted remedial measures umpteen times is now observing maunvrata!
—BK Chaudhari,
Royal W Crescent, The Oakalls, B60, 2TJ, UK
A letter from Australia This refers to the letter of Anand Prakash in the Organiser dated November 20, 2011.While writing about Gandhiji he must think of the following facts:
1. The Australians know about only two Indians. They are Lord Buddha and Gandhiji.
2. Allan Gunn my Australian friend was in India in 1946. He met Gandhiji many times. According to him Gandhiji was really a marvellous person.
3. I was in the hospital sometime back. An Australian priest came to see me. While talking about Gandhiji he said, “Gandhi was a saint”. The people all over the world believe that Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest Hindu of the 20th century.
—Amar Jit Singh Goraya,
30 Gillmartin, Dr Griffith NSW, Australia 2680
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