LETTERS


Not just Jaya...
 NO leader in the political history of the country has ever confessed his errors of omission and commission and Jayalalitha is no exception (‘Wounded lioness’, July 14). In fact, much of the public ire is on her surrogate sister Sasikala. The marriage of her foster son was indeed a water-shed event that later turned out to be the Waterloo of her political career. Power got into her head so much that she forgot the existence of an electorate which can perform miracles in a democracy.
But, if leaders like Laloo Yadav can bring in history-sheeters like Taslimuddin, and a bandit queen like Phoolan Devi, and yell to the world that they are meant for reforming the society, there is nothing wrong in Jayalalitha having a dictatorial past. Whether Jayalalitha can get out of the muddle is not the crux of the matter but whether cow-belt leaders like Laloo can get way with anything while others are crucified.
DR U.S. IYER,
BANGALORE.
THE ‘iron lady’ lost the elections because the state was ruled by a proxy chief minister, Sasikala. Jayalalitha’s allegations that the elections were rigged lacks substance. Her own actions have brought her to this state of affairs. Though Sir Winston Churchill as the British prime minister won the World War II for his country, he had to bow out of the office after the elections as the electorate did not want a war monger. In the same way one expects Jayalalitha to respect the people’s verdict.
She should now do some serious thinking and try to rejuvenate the wilted party cadre.
N. SUBBUSWAMY,
PONDICHERRY.
Way with Vipassana
OUR politicians will never practise it (‘Happiness can be learnt’, July 14). Even a politician turned philosopher like C. Subramaniam tried to learn Vipassana but did not have the perseverance to master this art of living.
Such feebleness of the mind can be eradicated by constantly practising Vipassana. And once a person becomes habituated then it is a way of life. For a person who practises Vipassana, happiness and a right livelihood cannot be separated. There is neither any puja nor hypocrisy associated with this art. It is merely a research into one’s mind in its purest form as discovered by Lord Buddha.
This way of life could be made compulsory for people in public life to solve our problems which are really beyond mind and matter.
MADHUSUDHAN MOR,
BANGALORE.
Keeping alive
THE sordid tales of self-extinction and infanticide stem from immature minds and blind traditions (‘Seeds of death’, June 30). The illiterate masses of Usilampatti should be educated to put an end to this ghastly practice of swallowing these seeds that cause death.
The government together with social organisations should take effective measures in destroying on a war-footing the plants that yield these seeds.
R.A. PAI,
BANGALORE.
Tower of Babel?
T.V.R. SHENOY is confusing the people by saying that Hindi is a national language just like other Indian languages (‘Look, who is talking’, July 7).
We must be ashamed of ourselves that we Indians do not have a national language of our own. Article 343 recognises Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the Indian Union. The other 18 regional languages are recognised by Article 345 as the official languages of the state.
While English is recognised as the legislative and judicial language, there is a provision in Article 343 proposing continuation of English for a period of 15 years from the commencement of the constitution in 1950. Parochial considerations and political expediency have scuttled the decision.
One only hopes that Shenoy dissociates himself from the Hindi Hatao brigade of south India.
M.S. KILPADY,
MUMBAI.
Demolition man is no demon
IF service rules go against the spirit of freedom of expression enshrined in our Constitution, then such strait-jacket rules need to be scrapped or reviewed in the interest of the nation (‘Wounded, yet unrelenting’, July 7). . To dodge the powers at the helm, Alphons could have written under a pseudonym.
If this trend of stifling Khairnars and Alphonses, the warp and weft of democracy, goes on, how can those who preen themselves to be the champions of democracy ever produce the fabric of democracy?
If the height of hypocrisy is not shortened, a day will come when IAS officers and other public servants may be prevented from blotting their nails with indelible ink at the quinquennial jubilee which paves way for ‘elective dictatorship’.
JASON VIJAYANTHI,
MADRAS.
ALPHONS KANNANTHANAM needs the unstinted support of the press, judiciary and the public for his crusade against corruption. Officers like him are rare. Alphons is getting a raw deal because of the vintage conduct rules for the civil servants. It is high time that the Union government amended the rules that are in force since the British period.
The suspension of Alphons without seeking clarification is against the principles of natural justice.Though suspension is not punishment, as declared by the judiciary, the word suspension itself is enough to add stigma that one cannot shake off easily. The existing conduct rules for the civil servants should be scrapped as the present civil and criminal procedure acts are enough to discipline the bureaucrats.
T.D. RAO, BELLARY,
KARNATAKA.
OFFTRACK
The SP leader induced infections in JD and engineered attacks and as a result, the party was reduced to a strength of a mere four.
DECCAN HERALD, BANGALORE, JULY 7, 1996,
CONTRIBUTED BY A. KESHAV BHARADWAJ, MYSORE, KARNATAKA.
"You have, yourself, provided the leadership and, by your willingness to embrace your former captors, have set the curse towards national reconciliation and freedom for all the people of South Africa."
THE HINDU, MADRAS, JULY 11, 1996,
CONTRIBUTED BY X.A. INIAN, MADRAS.
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