Ailing Democracy"Political bankruptcy has ensured that elections are meaningless. Indian democracy desperately needs to acquire a healthy cultural base."Prabhakar S. Harsole, IndoreParliamentary Pollution The election commission has taken the right step in preventing politicians with criminal records from contesting the ensuing parliamentary elections ("Question Marks of 1998", December 15). But that is not enough. It must insist that every candidate encloses with his nomination papers an income-tax clearance certificate, a declaration of assets, a certificate from the district authorities regarding occupation of government accommodation or dues owed to the Government and a character certificate from the police. Returning officers must scrutinise these documents before accepting nominations. This will go a long way in cleansing the suffocating parliamentary pollution in the country.P.J. Bagilthaya, BangaloreLaw Above All Else The office of the Jain Commission and the Ministry of Home Affairs are two main places where the CBI has to conduct its investigation in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case ("Handy Tool", December 15). Questioning is part of any investigation and if this is deemed to be "inquisition" by Justice M.C. Jain, he must bear in mind that he himself has done so with scores of witnesses who appeared before the Jain Commission and during his many decades of judicial service earlier. In my own 30 years of working in the CBI, I have questioned hundreds of persons. Even if they complain of harassment, following such procedures is inevitable and a necessary corollary to any investigation. Justice Jain and D.N. Luthra know this only too well and cannot claim immunity from examination by CBI officers. No matter how high a person is, the law is still above him.K. Madhavan, inspector general of police (retd), DelhiThe political and economic upheaval caused by the interim report of the Jain Commission will go down in our history as an ignominious chapter. It had to be so because the very genesis of the commission was ill-motivated. All that the commission has done is collate and compile data that the country was already aware of. It has not indicated any worthwhile conspiracy angle in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. The report has only vitiated the political atmosphere, taken its toll of the economy and threatened regional harmony.K. Gopinathan, ThiruvananthapuramRajiv is to Blame Mani Shankar Aiyar's contempt for the intelligence of the average reader is evident ("Needle of Suspicion", December 15). The fact remains that the LTTE was nurtured and encouraged by Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi in more than 30 training camps. It was Rajiv who, to quote Mani, "slept with the enemy after LTTE opened hostilities with the IPKF" in October 1987. The Jain Commission records that in Delhi, Rajiv met LTTE's Kasi Anandan on March 5, 1991, and Arjuna Sittampalam on March 15, 1991. If anyone is to be charged with treason it must be Rajiv. He sent soldiers to their deaths in pursuit of a foreign policy that gained India nothing but opprobrium and the body bags of some 1,200 soldiers.Amar Saksena, Dubai .preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Gender BiasDespite the enviable progress Punjab has made in some fields, it is unfortunate that it is socially very backward ("Victims of Sudden Affluence", December 15). As most mahila mandals of the state are proving to be ineffective in fighting for the cause of dowry victims, women's fora in other parts of the country must come to their rescue. Gender bias cannot be allowed to take on such alarming proportions.Nalini Sudhakaran, ThiruvananthapuramOn the one hand, we talk about women's liberation while on the other, there are merciless killings of the fairer sex. Worse, many of these cases are not reported to the police with the result that few face legal action. Women's welfare societies may claim to have awakened the people against dowry. The truth is that the evil practice still flourishes.J. Paul Singh, PatialaWrong Signals Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif's bid to gain supremacy over the judiciary can send wrong signals ("Emperor Sharif ", December 15). Sharif should have ensured that the sanctity of the Constitution and the judiciary remained intact, instead of arbitrarily amending the Constitution. In India, we may have unstable governments but the judiciary is stable. Our politicians still abide by court orders.Ameet Awasthi, Chandigarh "By comparing the various states on a scale of corruption, it seems Indians have accepted a rotten system as unavoidable. Why is it that no effort is made to fight the malaise?"M. K. Cherian,Winsen, GermanyMake Transplants ViableTo conclude that there is a dearth of donors in India for organ transplants is like putting the cart before the horse ("Dearth of Donors", December 8). It is first necessary for surgeons to establish that liver transplants are a viable proposition. Once the first few cases are successful, it is easy to gather public support and organise a donor-retrieval system. A few bad results could well throw a life-saving operation into such disrepute that it may never take off in the country.Dr H. Ramesh, KochiLacking Spin The Indian team unfortunately lacks quality spinners ("Spin Doctors on Sick Bed", December 8). While Kumble looks to be past his best, others like Chauhan and Raju haven't succeeded on the international scene. The advent of one-dayers has made them wary of flighting the ball. The accent is on containment. It is time the authorities began to seriously groom spinners.Shyam Sundar, ChennaiAccept Eunuchs The article on the complex relationships of eunuchs was touching ("Bizarre Union", December 1). Eunuchs were held in high esteem in the ancient societies of Europe where they sang for the church. While they are still accepted as part of mainstream society in developed nations, they walk the streets of ridicule in India, which is plagued by anachronistic dogmas and stratification on all fronts.Anand K. Srivastava, Delhi "The Indian masses are still not ready to openly discuss sex in their families. More the reason why sex education must be made compulsory in schools."Ajit Thakur,PatnaDistress SalesTo say Kashmir is returning to normalcy is far from the truth ("Out of the Mists", December 1). Militants and their sympathisers have changed their strategy. Many of those who have been occupying properties of Kashmiri Pandits since 1990 are now sending property dealers to the owners- who have moved to Jammu, Delhi or Mumbai-to pressure them into selling their assets. This is to ensure that they have no stake left in the Valley and the process of "ethnic cleansing" is carried to its logical conclusion.Datatreya R., JammuDangerous Silence Tavleen Singh may have raised a point while highlighting the bad governance in the country, but her suggestions are not practical ("Forget about Idealism", November 24). The masses hardly have any inclination to contain erring politicians, who know that only too well. The silence of the millions is costing the country dear.M.P.S. Chadha, ChandigarhFalse Allegations Your article ("Stooping to conquer", November 10) makes false allegations that I have been booked and arrested under TADA, the National Security Act and the Goonda Act. The fact is I have never been charged, arrested or even taken to a police station or jail, let alone be convicted.K. Kunwar Raghu Raj Pratap Singh, minister for programme implementation, LucknowPublished By: AtMigration Published On: Dec 29, 1997--- ENDS ---
