Letters to the Editor title= Jinxed policy towards Kashmir SIR, It appears to me that India’s policy towards Kashmir is jinxed, more of course by the stupidity of the government than by the quirk of destiny. Some time back when it was announced that Parveez Rasool, a cricketer from J & K had been included in the cricket team for the India versus Zimbabwe series, a wave of pro-India sentiment in J & K was evident. Recognition of a cricketer from the state did send a message to the ordinary Kashmiri that in sports, fairness and equity still determined choice, especially that of India’s cricket team. Given a life-time opportunity, Rasool went with excitement, of a kind that only a sportsperson can appreciate. India knew from the start that the Zimbabwe team was no match. We won the first three matches; Rasool was not in our team. I take it there were better players and India had to be cautions. But then Rasool did not get a chance, not in the fourth, and not even in the fifth (when India was 4 - 0). I cannot explain his exclusion ~ the gains by his inclusion far outweighed the imagined disadvantage of loss in the fifth Test. One change in the team could not have damaged India’s prospects. We lost an opportunity of appreciating the sensitivities of minorities and Kashmiris because of the insensitivity and indifference of selectors and high-profile politicians in the BCCI. Yours, etc., Rajindar Sachar, (Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court), New Delhi, 10 August. CAMPUS CHAOS SIR, This refers to the report, “Guv unhappy with growing indiscipline in the state universities” (9 August). Campus violence is endemic under the present dispensation in West Bengal. The state government has failed to fulfill its pledge to ensure a transparent administration, free from political interference. The chief minister is entirely responsible for the chaotic situation. She believes in one-person rule and has reduced other ministers to irrelevance. It is because of the failure to curb violence that college union elections have been kept in abeyance. The Trinamul-backed employees’ union and goons have vandalized Presidency University, IIT Kharagpur, Gour Banga University, and Calcutta University. The administration is unlikely to be moved by the Governor’s caustic criticism of the functioning of universities. Earlier, his criticism of the law and order situation had been greeted by the state’s panchayat minister with the threat that the “yellow card” would be flashed. As Chancellor, he had regretted the violence at Presidency University, but the government is indifferent. yours, etc., Soumita Paul, Chakdaha, 9 August. UP’s SAND MAFIA SIR, Current trends are alarming. With an eye on vote-bank politics, Balkanisation of the country appears to be the target of politicians. The attempt to carve out the state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh on the eve of the 2014 parliamentary elections has opened a Pandora’s box. Further, those who are looting the country cannot be touched, but those who are trying to track down the looters must be hounded out. The latest case in point is the suspension of the young IAS officer, Durga Shakti Nagpal. As a dedicated officer, she had cracked down on UP’s sand mafia. In the event, she has been suspended and implicated in a trumped-up case that she had ordered the demolition of a wall surrounding a mosque. The Chief Minister of the state pretends to be a crusader for the rights of minorities on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections. The sand mafia is hand-in-glove with the politicians of the state. Yours, etc., KK Roy Choudhury, Kolkata, 10 August. POINTS TO PONDER SIR, Those blaming the BJP for the communal disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir should first ponder over certain issues. While applying for an Indian passport, who mentioned his nationality as Kashmiri Muslim? Who proposed that Pakistani currency should be allowed to be circulated along with the Indian rupee in the Kashmir Valley? While a number of states have had Muslim chief ministers, can the “Special Status State” ever see a Hindu as Chief Minister? Why was a former Chief Minister of J & K arrested under the Defence of India Rules. What exactly was his offence? Yours, etc., Arun Malankar, Mumbai, 11 August.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 19:51:07 +0000
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