Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Gurgaon police action

The article "Malls of the few, chawls of the many" (July 28) underlined the plight of the poor and the down trodden. There is nothing surprising about the police being so insensitive and anti-people even half a century after Independence. The way they are being used by politicians and corporates is not very different from the days of the Raj.

A.K. Verma,
Kanpur, U.P.

The both-sides-did-it line is being used by many to rationalise the barbaric acts by the police at Gurgaon. Scores of other instances of police atrocities come to mind immediately. Only exemplary disciplinary action will deter such high-handed behaviour.

K.S. Ramakrishnan,
Chennai

The utterly shameful action cannot be justified on any ground whatsoever. It smacked of total contempt for the workers. The insensitive attitude of the Honda management is appalling.

Rachit Anand,
Kochi, Kerala

The article presents a true picture of the economic disparities. While one part of Gurgaon splurges on new age malls and wants to showcase India as an FDI destination, the other is denied even the legitimate right to protest deprivation of livelihood. Life, it seems, is cheaper than labour for the indifferent MNC managements.

Ranjan Pant,
Lucknow

The police are the custodians of the law, trained to handle situations like this. Throwing all established norms to the winds, the Haryana police reacted as though they were dealing with an enemy.

S. Sudhir Kumar,
Athens, Ohio

The action makes us wonder whether we indeed live in a democratic country. That the second fastest developing economy had to use police force against its own people is a shame.

T.G. Vinod,
Kochi, Kerala

The country is dangerously getting divided between old and new India. Gurgaon is one of the many incidents demonstrating this. The largest democracy of the world seems to be interested in FDI inflows, rising Sensex, and attractive statistics at the cost of basic rights of workers.

T.K. Sarkar,
New Delhi

Why are the police being made a scapegoat for the failure of the Government? On the one hand, the Government wants to pander to the whims of the MNCs and, on the other, it wants to keep the Left parties in good humour. The police are only pawns in the games politicians play.

Vishaal Vyas,
Hyderabad

While it is suggested that a national police commission be set up to train policemen in the discharge of their duties with dignity, decency, and discipline, confrontation need not be the first recourse of workers either. All labour disputes should first be referred to tribunals and not sought to be resolved on the streets.

P. Ishwarya,
Tirunelveli, T.N.

The lawless behaviour of the law-enforcers cannot be condoned by any stretch of imagination. But pointing an accusing finger at the Japanese envoy for saying that the unrest could impact FDI inflows into India is unwarranted. What he has said is the plain truth. No multi-national company would like to invest in India, if the government cannot facilitate smooth industrial activity.

In the Honda dispute, one cannot and should not take sides until the facts are ascertained.

D. Samuel Laurence,
Madurai, T.N.

In Japan, work is considered worship and employees' protest takes the form of working for more than the specified hours and refusing wages. The display of mob mentality by the Honda employees who first attacked the police resulted in a reaction. Of course, it was an over-reaction. The police have enough problems tackling crime and terrorism. Citizens with decently paying jobs need not add to their woes.

Palanki Balakrishna,
Hyderabad

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