The Hindu : New Delhi News : Reader's Mail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 13, 2006
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Reader's Mail

Bandh and beyond

During the "Delhi bandh" by traders' associations which literally paralysed the city, we as citizens who had no stakes whatsoever in the agitation were put to a lot of inconvenience.

The bandh was absolutely unjustified and also illegal. It went against the Supreme Court's ruling prohibiting forcible closure of shops and establishments.

It is only a microcosm of population which is directly affected by the sealing drive in the Capital but to garner solidarity for their cause the protesters held the entire city to ransom.

Vandalism went on unabated. Raw muscle power was conspicuous on the streets.

Apart from direct confrontation with the reserve forces, vehicles loaded with hooligans were brazenly plying down the roads, warning shopkeepers to keep their shops closed or else face the consequences.

Whether or not the Supreme Court is distanced away from ground realities is a different issue altogether.

It is for the Administration to ensure that vested interests do not succeed in creating panic and fear psychosis.

Or else it will be tantamount to a breakdown of the basic Constitutional order, necessitating proclamation of Emergency in the city-State.

Alok Srivastava,

55/1- 2nd Floor,

Old Rajendra Nagar,

New Delhi - 110 060.

Life and death

It is not clear whether the current all-India debate on the death penalty is of a general nature or aimed at particular instances. However, it is clear that a debate of this nature happens when a specific case comes up.

A debate not as intense happened at the time of Dhananjoy Chatterji, but it died down soon after his execution. It is time now that the subject is debated afresh, totally generalised, and some clear conclusion arrived at. The media should take an absolutely neutral stand.

The philosophy behind punishment is threefold -- retribution, deterrence and reformation.

The retribution theory seems rational, but since it is archaic it has become unacceptable.

Looking at human nature as it is, it is difficult to accept the validity of the other two theories. Some say life is a gift of God and man has no right to take it.

But has God given anyone the right to torture? A person undergoing torture feels death would be a blessing. Suicides result from mental torture whether inflicted by others or merely by circumstances.

In some countries capital punishment has been abolished and statistics show that this has not led to a rise in the crime rate.

In some countries capital punishment is rampant. This country is midway. We have now "the rarest of rare cases" theory which has made capital punishment rare, though right now "rarest of rare" cases are pretty frequent.

So let there be an apolitical, serious intellectual debate and let us have a clear policy on this matter.

T. P. M. Pillai,

27 Teachers' Flats,

Miranda House,

Delhi University,

Delhi - 110 007.

Railways' ways

It is sad news for railway passengers to Kerala that the Trivandrum Rajdhani which used to take 42 hours earlier for its run from Delhi is now taking 47 hours according to a changed time table.

This is a highly retrograde step, particularly when the Railway Minister in his budget speech in Parliament this year had promised to speed up Express and Superfast trains.

There are over 10 lakh Keralites living in Delhi and this prestigious train, when introduced, was like a dream come true for them as also for countless tourists who wanted to cover a distance of 3,000 km, the longest from the National Capital to a State Capital, in the shortest time.

It is shocking that at a time when people were looking forward to an increased frequency of this train from the present two days a week to at least five days a week and a reduced running time, the authorities chose to increase its running time from 42 hours to 47.

This would only help the private budget airlines whom the Railways are already fighting. The Railway authorities must do something at once to improve matters.

T. D. Thampi,

C/o Penguin Books India,

11, Community Centre,

Panchsheel Park,

New Delhi - 110 017.

Ujjain calling

The Madhya Pradesh Institute of Social Science Research in Ujjain is organising a 10-day training workshop for social science teachers, researchers and students on "Computer Applications in Social Science" from January 9 to 18, 2007. The objective of the workshop is to impart training in areas such as quantitative research process, data processing using computer, interpretations of the results, and project-work.

Travel, lodging and board costs will be borne by the Institute. For applications, please write to Director, MPISSR, 6 Bharatpuri Institutional Area, Ujjain - 456 010 (dc_sah@yahoo.co.uk.).

Director,

Madhya Pradesh Institute of Social Science Research,

6, Bharatpuri Institutional Area,

Ujjain - 456 010.

Money lost

My hard-earned money totalling Rs.25,000 invested for one and a half years in Modern Group of Industries in 1997 and another Rs.10,000 invested the same group's non-convertible debentures in 1996 has been lost. Worse, the Government has not come out with any policy against defaulting companies who swallow investors' money with impunity.

It is equally sad that the SEBI Chairman has not cared to respond to me despite repeated letters. Do I have some hope now?

Prem Sagar Nanda,

House No. F-7/121,

LIC Colony,

Kashmir Avenue,

Amritsar.

(Letters for this column may be sent by e-mail to wsins@thehindu.co.in. They must carry the full postal address of the writer and should be marked "Reader's Mail".)