'A proper justice-dispensing system is what India desperately needs'

The real victimsA majority of real criminals escape the long arm of the law simply because they have influential backers. A proper justice-dispensing system is what India desperately needs. Nitin Killawala, Mumbai Unexplained LapsesThe article ("Tiger In Trouble", August 17) though informative, did not clarify the reasons for the riots, their precipitation and the people responsible. The ruling party and the government in power are responsible for a state's law and order. At the time of the December 1992 riots, the Congress was in power in Maharashtra. It failed to contain the arson and looting. An effete political leadership and the Sharad Pawar-Sudhakarrao Naik rivalry made matters worse. One fails to understand how the Shiv Sena can be held responsible for the riots when the ruling party was the Congress. If Sena chief Bal Thackeray was responsible for the mayhem, why wasn't he arrested and prosecuted then?S.P. Sharma, Mumbai"Whether it is Thackeray inciting communal riots or Laloo Yadav involved in scams - the politician is never victimised. The common man is." Sudarsan Nandi, KharagpurDeplorable DispensationCrime has increased in our country because of two protective layers: the police and the judiciary ("Hell's Prisoners", August 17). The former is a toothless lion and the latter, a white elephant. Thousands of innocent people are brutalised while offenders often get away. Prisoners are shifted from one jail to another. Cases and court hearings lie pending for years. These make a mockery of justice. It takes years for the guilty to be punished and for the innocent to be proven not guilty. And, a majority of real criminals escape the long arm of the law simply because they have influential backers. A proper justice-dispensing system is what India desperately needs.Nitin Killawala, MumbaiThe article misses the basic point. The threat of making an individual an undertrial is the one tool used by a host of regulatory, statutory, mandatory and law-enforcing bodies, from the drain-inspector upwards. This remnant of colonialism, the threat of "putting troublesome natives away", is what needs to be addressed.Veeresh Malik,on e-mail from Delhi"For the past 51 years, the Kashmir issue has been a deep-rooted existential dilemma for Pakistan that refuses to go away."V.S. Garg, MoradabadBe IndianBy referring to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) as "Azad Kashmir", your magazine has used the Pakistani and not the Indian name for the state ("On the Edge", August 17). INDIA TODAY, being an Indian publication, ought to know better.Sandeep Suri,on e-mailDefinition of DiplomacyIsaac Goldberg once said that "diplomacy is to do and say the nastiest thing in the nicest way" ("Breakdown", August 10). The sooner the Government realises that diplomacy is the art of fishing tranquilly in troubled waters, the easier it will be for it to sustain a purposeful democracy.K.G. Menon, Sonepat, HaryanaThere seems to be no end to the tension between India and Pakistan. The breakdown in Colombo takes the situation back to square one. The current scenario warrants some serious thinking on the part of the neighbouring countries. We should find a new way to tackle the problem so as to put an end to the arms race.Puneet Agarwal, on e-mailStark RealityThe media seems to have lapsed into pseudo-secular claptrap. A well-orchestrated campaign of vilification against the VHP in Gujarat has been unleashed without verifying ground realities ("Bad Blood Boiling", August 10). In the past six months, 42 Hindu girls were forced to convert to Islam and married off to Muslim boys. But when, with the support of cheer leaders of "secular" parties, two Hindu boys were killed by relatives of the Muslim girls they had married, there was not a whimper of protest from the Congress high command or media moguls. So much for the moral high ground of intellectuals.Badal Ghana Chakravorty, DelhiThe report revealed the stark reality of certain religions targeting Hindus for large-scale conversion. Islamic fundamentalists have, in fact, overtly supported the abduction of Hindus, while Christian fundamentalists carry on their covert operations under the cloak of social service. Intolerance is the hallmark of religions that take recourse to such means. The Government needs to take a firm stand on this issue.Remani Shreekumar,MangaloreSorry StateTavleen Singh's viewpoint hits the nail on the head ("Grow Up Sonia", August 10). The Congress party's assertion that it will be able to provide the solution to the corruption, nepotism and apathy to the plight of the people in India - after first sowing the seeds for this sorry state of affairs in its almost 40 years of rule since Independence - is laughable. Sonia Gandhi can perform no miracles. Who does the party think it is fooling?A.K. Mantri,Mumbai"If it was Indira Gandhi then, now it's Sonia. The Marxists are known for their opportunism, and the recent overtures to the Congress are proof enough of this."L. Sitalakshmi, VelloreAdmirable FeatThough most cricket enthusiasts raised eyebrows at Ajit Agarkar's performance in 1998, the article highlighted his achievements very lucidly ("The Ascent of Agarkar", August 10). Having been at the top of the list of bowlers early in his career, with a tally of 36 wickets in 15 matches, a good average of 18.3 and a strike rate of 21.7 runs, Agarkar has performed no mean feat.A.V. Ramana Rao,ChennaiMissing the PointWhile being informative, the article on Bangladeshi immigrants could have been researched better ("Political Pawns", August 10). One of the first warnings bringing to public notice the fact that immigration was steadily increasing was in an article published byThe Statesman,Calcutta, in 1989. The CPI (M)-led state government was incensed at the time and wrote a letter to the paper in protest. Subsequently all political parties, with the exception of the BJP, have pretended the problem doesn't exist. Bangladeshi infiltration is more than just a spontaneous movement of population from an impoverished country to a more affluent one. A well-concealed fact is that Muslims had driven out two crore Hindus and some Buddhists and Christians out of what was then East Pakistan.Tathagata Roy,on e-mail from CalcuttaSetting the PaceThe way in which southern like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have contained their population growth is remarkable ("Three Bundles of Joy", August 10). The figure for the total fertility rate, 2.1 per cent, was achieved by Kerala in 1988 and by Tamil Nadu in 1993. Andhra Pradesh is expected to reach the target by 2002. A better healthcare system and an innovative communication campaign have largely contributed to Tamil Nadu's success story.A. Jacob Sahayam,VelloreWay Off TargetIf Nathuram Godse wanted to punish those guilty of partitioning India, he should have targeted Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel ("Godse on Trial Again", August 3). It is they who gave their consent in writing to Lord Mountbatten. Mahatma Gandhi only heard of the decision the next day. They also imposed upon India a constitution which institutionalised exploitation of the common man bringing the country to its present state. Had Gandhi not been assassinated then, India would perhaps be seeing better days today.S.K. Sharma, DelhiWrong CompanyThe article on alternative medicine wrongly mentioned that Y-Snore nasal drops were from Kopran Pharmaceuticals ("Promise of the Pills", August 17). Y-Snore is a brand manufactured by Biological E. Ltd and marketed by its division, Biona.Product Manager,Biona, Biological E. LtdPublished By: AtMigration Published On: Aug 31, 1998--- ENDS ---

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'A proper justice-dispensing system is what India desperately needs'

"A majority of real criminals escape the long arm of the law simply because they have influential backers. A proper justice-dispensing system is what India desperately needs."

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