The Hindu : New Delhi News : On sale?

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Monday, Jul 21, 2008
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New Delhi

New Delhi

On sale?

Our government spends crores on newspaper advertisements for photo-publicity of political rulers. It would be better if the money were spent on notifying the public about the salient features of the much talked about nuclear deal through full-page newspaper ads. Likewise, opponents of the treaty could use the print media as well to publicise their objections so that the public rather than a saleable lot of parliamentarians would decide the issue.

Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan has said on record that MPs are being bought over for 25 crore each to vote for the treaty. To avoid financial motivations in deciding the fate of the Manmohan Singh government, voting on the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha should be done through electronic voting machines. The MPs who abstain from such voting should be instantly deprived of their membership of Parliament.

Madhu Agrawal,

1775, Kucha Lattushah, Dariba, Chandni Chowk, Delhi – 110 006.

Deal or no deal?

The nuclear issue is a highly sensitive matter whether it is peaceful or non-peaceful use of nuclear energy. In the changed context of contemporary international relations it would not be advisable to tackle it at a bilateral level. If at all, it should be dealt with at a multilateral level. In a parliamentary democratic set-up such as ours, it should be tackled by consensus.

For our country to become strong we must not forget that modern science and technology are a very powerful source of power and wealth. For all-round progress, science should emerge as an instrument of Renaissance and Reformation, both long overdue in this land of ours.

Prof. Swami Buddhanand,

Asian Academy of United Nations Law and Diplomacy, IBM Complex, Jogiwara Road, McLeodganj, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.

Good morning?

It would have been a pleasure to see dog-owners walking their pets in the mornings in the city if only they had the necessary civic sense to clean up after their pets have done their deed for the day. Nothing ruins the day more than the sight of turds first thing in the morning.

Contraptions are available nowadays that make excrement-free dog-walking possible. It is a pity that educated and often affluent Delhiites take it as their right to walk their dogs but show little concern for early morning joggers, students and other members of the public who often have to keep a watchful eye out for canine excrement.

It has turned into a nightmarish situation with the advent of the monsoon, since it has become difficult to avoid stepping on the slime at least once a day. Paul Theroux had one character in his much talked about The Great Indian Railway Bazaar coin the memorable term “turd world”!

Apathy is the culprit here. Dog-lovers are very humane and caring individuals who are the pride of our society. Only the absence of some kind of awareness about the inconvenience caused to others deters them from taking preventive steps on their daily walks. Or is it time we took a leaf out of the New Yorkers’ book and enacted something akin to the “pooper scooper” law?

Umar. N,

57, Tapti, JNU, New Delhi -110 067.

Cruelty to dogs

With reference to the recent poisoning of 22 dogs in Mumbai, it is absolutely disgusting the way modern India treats its animals.

Not too long ago Bangalore, “India’s Silicon Valley”, was purged of its stray dogs as the municipal authorities began a pogrom to take care of “stray dog nuisance”. What followed next was absolutely gruesome and inhuman.

It is shameful that such atrocities happen in a nation such as ours, where Mahatma Gandhi, whom we call the Father of the Nation, once remarked, “One can judge a nation by the way it treats its animals.”

If that is the case, I am ashamed to be an Indian. I hope those in the corridors of power and justice do something about this and make an example of those who commit such cruelties.

Nick Singh,

House No. T-5, Indian Institute of Management, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad – 380 015.

Deadly Delhi

A woman Chief Minister, a woman Mayor, and yet a nine-year-old girl is raped inside her school premises in Delhi. Are

women of any age safe anywhere? Homes, schools, hospitals, workplaces,

public transport, roads….the same horrendous crime, different

perpetrators, different victims, the same `With You, For You, Always’

Delhi Police looking on ineptly. The drama over the nuclear deal will temporarily

pause. The political contractors -- those who slit pregnant women’s

bellies in Gujarat and those who gang-raped women in Nandigram -- will

indulge in a little sideshow of protest. All this is like Ramlila;

after the show, Ram and Ravan will share bidis and tea backstage.