LETTERS

Chandrika Kumaratunga

The interview by Editor N. Ram with Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga (March 16) has maintained the traditional poise and dignity of VIP interviews. Chandrika's answers were so frank and straightforward that one felt that Ram was getting answers not only for his straight questions but also for expected supplementaries and anticipated starred ones. Ram has brought out from her the impression that India-Sri Lanka relations are now excellent in spite of the bureaucratic blocks in the way of the Fr ee Trade Agreement. An interesting interview.

V.V. Prabhu
Kollam

The readers get from the interview a fair idea of the Sri Lankan President's sincere efforts to put an end to the ethnic strife in the island nation. That Chandrika Kumaratunga is eager to buy peace with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is wel l reflected in her words. She has measured and judged the LTTE well. The President means business and is firm in her resolve.

Striking a friendly note and seeing a silver lining in Sri Lanka-India relations, the President has concluded that "at the political level, I think we have arrived at an excellent point in the Indo-Sri Lankan relations."

Important matters like the relations between the People's Alliance government and the main Opposition party, the United National Party, the revival of the SAARC process, and the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement signed between India and Sri Lank a in 1998 are covered well in this historic interview.

The interview is a mine of information on the LTTE and other related topics.

Mani Natarajan
Chennai

The interview has brought out Chandrika Kumarantunga's views on the peace prospects in Sri Lanka and her guarded optimism. With the British government's ban on the LTTE and the LTTE's turnaround to the position that it will remain in the peace process de spite the ban offers perhaps "the best window of opportunity since the war began".

However, there may be many hurdles, the main ones being that of convincing the LTTE to give up the demand for Eelam and to win the cooperation of the Sinhala hardliners, who favour war. Practical wisdom should dawn on both sides for this.

A. Jacob Sahayam
Karigiri, Tamil Nadu

Electoral reforms

The story on the quiet reforms in the electoral process ("Elections, and more", March 16) was informative. I agree that a formal educational qualification is not necessary for legislators. But surely political experience and qualifications are necessary. This can be achieved by having an age-cum-political experience matrix as under:

1. The minimum age for candidates contesting in district panchayat or municipal corporation elections must be 25.

2. A candidate standing for elections to the State legislature should be 30 or should have been a member of a district panchayat or municipal corporation for at least two years.

3. A candidate standing for the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha election should be at least 35 or should have been a member of a State legislature for at least two years.

4. One can become a Minister in a State or at the Centre only if he or she has been an MLA/MP for at least two years.

These conditions can ensure that our politicians start from the grassroots, and the chances of ministerial seats being traded will lessen. Political dynasties will also be difficult to establish.

There is, however, one aspect that your article has not dealt with - the rather 'undemocratic' feature of the electronic voting machines. In the ballot paper system one can ensure that no candidate gets the vote. This option is not available in the elect ronic system. This should be rectified by having a button for "None of the candidates".

T.R. Ramaswami
Mumbai

Shahidganj

This has reference to "Ayodhya in reverse" by A.G. Noorani (February 16). The author has convincingly juxtaposed the Ayodhya and Shahidganj disputes. Regarding the Shahidganj case, K.L. Gauba in his book Famous and Historical Trials has observed t hat "the controversy over Masjid Shahidganj constitutes one of the bitterest and most unfortunate events in the history of the province". He adds: "Few controversies have sparked such widespread emotionalism as the demolition of the Lahore Shahidganj mos que in the summer of 1938. In the course of this dispute there was much rioting and bloodshed. A lot of political noise was made and many new leaders and parties emerged and disappeared in rapid succession. The mosque episode, however, helped two men to establish their hold over their respective communities - Master Tara Singh over the Sikhs and Mohd. Ali Jinnah over the Muslims. Shahidganj paved the way to eventual, bloody partition of the country." The same was the case with the Ayodhya dispute.

The year in the first paragraph of the second column on page 90 should be 1850 instead of 1950.

Kulwinder
Jalandhar, Punjab

Donald Bradman

The legendary cricketer has been rightly eulogised (March 16). Amidst match-fixing scandals and fallen idols, it is heartening that the game has produced incomparable "saints" such as W.G. Grace and Donald Bradman.

J. Amalamanickam
Rome

Koel-Karo controversy

The brutal killing of innocent tribal people in Tapkara village in Ranchi district of Jharkhand speaks of the anti-people attitude of the government apparatus in India. The Mundas have lived in the area for long, with their own democratic institutions. T here is a system of weekly meetings where people collectively decide on development and related issues. A Munda is appointed the headman of the village, and he steps down after five years.

That such a community did not resort to violence is no wonder, but what surprises one is the general silence on the part of the larger society, the media and the intelligentsia. Having the experience of working in the villages of the area, I can only say that the Koel-Karo project has no acceptance among the local people. The amount of money invested to maintain the buildings and the personnel for the project was enough to bring about drastic changes in the lives of the poor tribal people if it was inve sted on development. The area is rich in natural resources.

M. Biswanath Sinha
Dehra Dun

Earthquake relief

"The aftershocks" (March 2) was a poignant reminder of what remains to be done in the earthquake-hit areas of Kutch and the rest of Gujarat. As usual the bureaucracy has been found wanting. If only rescue and relief measures had been launched within minu tes of the earthquake, more people could have been rescued. In contrast, the Swiss and other international teams went into action within hours of their landing there and brought out from the rubble a few people alive. The government of Gujarat was paraly sed for days before it got its act together. It was simply too little and too late.

The challenge before the authorities is to reach even the remotest villages that have escaped attention. It is not enough that towns and cities get all the relief. Equitable distribution should be the guiding principle. A few individuals and groups, belo nging to major communities, have shown how religion and caste barriers can be broken in a disaster situation. Normalisation of infrastructure will involve time and planned efforts. Meanwhile, essential services such as water, sanitation, power, hospitals and schools, should be resumed quickly. Counselling those who lost their families and those who have been traumatised by shock needs immediate attention.

D.B.N. Murthy
Bangalore

Praful Bidwai's column "Gujarat's unlearnt lessons" exposes a sad truth - that in a country like India even a natural calamity is a joke for political leaders. Most probably our political leaders have forgotten that in any calamity - whether it was Benga l's flood, Orissa's cyclone or Gujarat's earthquake - there is a need to strike the right balance with regard to relief measures. Gujarat was a fairly prosperous State. Our political leaders' actions are loaded in favour of their party's vote-bank. Ultim ately, the poor and the poor States fail to get their minimum necessities for livelihood.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee
Faridabad

That 'casteism' prevails among the earthquake affected people is indeed a matter of sadness. Particularly, the Frontline team's finding that many tents remained empty because upper-caste people would not share space with Dalits and other marginal communities hurt me. The Gujarat government must take necessary steps to instil a sense of harmony among the victims while offering rehabilitation.

V. Vinoraj
Pondicherry

VRS in banks

Your informative analysis (March 2) has drawn attention to the fact that the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) of banks has triggered an exodus of skilled personnel, namely officers, whereas a larger percentage of clerical staff have opted to stay back. However, your apprehension that this will further erode the efficiency of banks is not well-founded. We all agree that the banking system has to be revamped and modernised with a view to improve customer service and tone up their ability to face the rigo urs of the liberalised and competitive economy. Bank managements will be increasingly confronted by the fact that banking is more of technology and less of account-keeping. This changed environment calls for mainly two types of skills - computing skills and interpersonal skills to deal with customers in the 'front office'. The clerical staff can be retrained to handle computers and associated networks. The higher productivity levels will enhance the empowerment of the staff. The resulting decentralisati on will help improve employee morale and overall efficiency.

Speaking about interpersonal skills, the clerical staff, in general, exhibit a little more empathy with customers, than the officer class. In any case a good computerised system will eliminate any friction associated with personal banking transactions. G ood software can also help speedy and efficient handling of loan applications, curbing discretionary functioning by officers. NPAs will become a thing of the past with the advent of the technology. More VRS schemes are welcome, as banks can afford to she d some more flab once proper technology is in place.

Kangayam R. Rangaswamy
Durham, U.S.

I refer to the interview with S.R. Sengupta (March 2). Most write-ups on the VRS seem to have ignored certain ground realities:

The officers' unions have failed to ensure job security and job satisfaction to their members. Officers have therefore opted for the VRS in large numbers.

Promotions are conducted through selection tests. The subjectivity of promotion boards leads to frustration among officers. The unions have been ineffectual in protesting against undue reliance on confidential eports compiled in an unscientific manner. Y oung officers have chosen to quit under the VRS more because of career frustration than because there are greener pastures elsewhere. Performers are generally more penalised than rewarded.

The concern expressed by officers' unions about rural customers losing banking services is not sincere. It was they who castigated Congress(I) Minister K. Janardhana Poojari for asking them to cultivate a pro-village banking culture. Only 14 per cent of the NPAs are from villages. This is because of bankers' benevolence in the urban areas. Rural postings have often been opposed by the unions.

Office-bearers of unions do not quit their union positions until retirement. Union leaderships have not changed in the past two decades. Vested interests rule the roost in management of the unions, which are too cash-rich to be concerned about individual members' welfare.

The Rs.10,000 crores being given to well-to-do bankmen over and above their usual retirement benefits just to quit is an unjustifiable burden on Indian society.

R. Sajan
Aluva, Kerala

VHP and environment

This has reference to Mukul Sharma's article on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Tehri dam ("Nature and Naturalism", February 16). If the VHP had a grain of genuine concern for the ecology of the Ganga, it would have fought against the abysmal pol lution of the river. (There is indeed a governmental effort to clean the Ganga, partially successful though, but, significantly, funded by the Christian videshi the Netherlands!)

The VHP took up the Ganga issue not for the sake of its environment or the livelihood of the millions of people who depend on the river, but because it sees the river as a goddess.

Fathima Beegum
Kochi

Big dams

It was interesting to go through the review of the report of the World Commission on Dams (February 2). I fully agree with the critical views about big dams. It is equally interesting to know that Medha Patkar, one of the arch opponents of big dams, is o n the WCD.

The question is not whether one sympathises with the displaced persons or supports the mischiefs committed by vested interests. Every well-intentioned person does sympathise with the poor, be it the villagers in the Narmada Valley or the victims of the B hopal gas tragedy, or the families killed by the Ranbir Sena in Bihar. I support any movement that demands full compensation and rehabilitation for the dam-affected.

However, if one challenges the very rationale of a developmental project like a big dam and tries to thwart its construction in the name of the poor or protection of ecosystems, I fail to understand their motive. I find that persons like Medha Patkar, ar e tackled differently by the powers that be. They need not face police torture, harassment or incarceration; instead they get wide media publicity, particularly in developed countries.

Their anti-dam movements willy-nilly corroborate the claims of the leader of the imperialist world, the United States, which advocated a line against any developmental work in Third World countries, at the first Earth Summit in the 1970s.

I find no reason to agree that the U.S. is the first country to restore endangered ecosystems by decommissioning large and small dams. If it has done it at all, it is because it no longer needs any dams. If self-appointed saviours of the oppressed genuin ely care for their welfare, they should strengthen the struggle for social emancipation, instead of wasting their time on one particular and controversial issue.

Sunil Baran Chakraborty
Bidhannagar, West Bengal

Education and health

Basic education and basic health care facilities to all our people is a fundamental right. In his interview to Asha Krishnakumar, Lord Swraj Paul has rightly emphasised this point (February 2). It may be a fact that India is No. 2, only after the U.S., i n the global IT industry. But nearly seven lakh children die every year in India owing to diarrhoea, which is easily preventable. India still has only five hospital beds for a population of 1,000. The Prime Minister recently stated that government hospit als and dispensaries were unable to meet the needs of many Indians. He said that the government wanted to encourage more private sector investment in secondary and tertiary health care.

Rural women, the disabled and people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes stand out as the most vulnerable sections of Indian society. In 1992-93, the poorest of the Indian population recorded about 2.5 times the infant mortality ra te among the richest 20 per cent of the population. It is not just sufficient to vaccinate all children in India; it is more critical to provide sanitation by providing toilets and clean drinking water in every village. Corporate organisations in India, medical associations like the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Rotary and Lions clubs can play a vital role in supplementing government efforts. If each corporate organisation, every branch of the IMA, each and every Rotary and Lions club, every othe r charitable organisation adopts a village to provide basic sanitation and safe drinking water, the scenario will improve by leaps and bounds, and it will be possible to provide basic health care for a larger section of our society.

Dr. Vijay Viswanathan
Chennai