Mailbag

Elections in India

Sir,

It is rather unfortunate that the process of election has to be often repeated in India. It is overdue that those politicians who are responsible for this re-election realize the gravity of the unfortunate situation which they have created for the people of India by putting the nation through another election process.

As someone who lives in India and Australia and has observed the performance of successive governments in India I must mention that the BJP led government in India has done a creditable job in a short time span. Never has also the image of India been so elevated (with the possible exception of the period of Mrs Gandhi immediately after the 1971 Indo-Pak War) in the global arena. Hence, I would have been delighted like most Indians to see this government complete her full term.

It also surprises many of us that many people in India tend to bracket Mr Advani with Mrs Gandhi by labelling them both as persons of foreign origin. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality Mr Advani is an Indian who was also born in India, though unfortunately during that period most of India was ruled by the British. While in comparison Mrs Sonia Gandhi is an Italian who also happens to be born in Italy. Just because Mrs Gandhi has been transplanted into the Indian soil by virtue of her marriage to our beloved Rajiv Gandhi does not entitle her to special privileges such as the leadership of the Congress Party or our country. In fact I wonder what Mrs Sonia Gandhi (a lady of limited talents) would have been doing in Italy if she had stayed back in Italy? One thing is for sure that in Italy she probably would have been a nobody!

Yours etc...
Dinanath Raina (Lallasahib)
79 Southern Street
Murdoch, W.A. -6150
Australia
<dinnathraina@freemail.com.au>

Plea to CM

Sir,

I on behalf of my associates invite the kind attention of the Chief Minister to give due consideration to the genuine grievances of Sr. Lecturers in the School Education Department. It is submitted that Sr. Lecturers have been working in the grade of Rs 7500-12000 w.e.f. 11.02.1987 and as such, the promotion of Headmasters category over the head of Sr. Lecturer's category is unjust and unfair and, therefore, irregular for the reasons that they are far juniors to us. It is sad reflection on the working of the Department that Headmasters, who were not post-graduate at the relevant time or even reverted from the posts of Lecturers as also were holding posts in Master grade (Non-Gazetted) in the year of 1987 vis-a-vis we were holding the posts of Sr Lecturers in the year of 1987, are now-a-days made our Principals. Therefore, the promotion of Headmasters at our cost has on the one hand subjected us to financial loss and frustrated our legitimate aspirations, on the other hand it has exposed us to a stigma, because it is likely to create an impression that we have been superseded on account of unfitness for promotion, which has resulted in failure of justice to us. It is painful that we want to work, but supersession-cum stagnation has killed our desire to work in +2 schools. There is no denying the logical surmise that the Department itself has upset the ''Hierarchical order'' in +2 Schools and due to this very reason, no good results are expected in Govt run schools, unless policy of promoting juniors is revoked.

I hope that appropriate orders for the redressal of our genuinely felt grievances be issued immediately.

Yours etc...
Dilsher Singh
President
Plus 2 Lecturers Action Committee
Jammu-Province

Nuclear doctrine

Sir,

Recently India came out with its nuclear doctrine, seeking to formalize its credible minimum deterrence posture. The US State Department spokesman James Rubin condemned it as a step in the wrong direction, saying that it is bad for the security of India, the region, the USA and the world. The USA, alongwith China, demanded that India give up its nuclear weapons and missiles.

Let us look at the US policy. USA has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. It is the only country that routinely stations its nuclear weapons in other countries. It is the only country to actually have used nuclear low-level forms of nuclear weapons.

The USA and NATO have regularly used depleted-uranium weapons in Iraq and Yugoslavia. These weapons create radioactive hazard, and are sinister low-level forms of nuclear weapons.

The USA zealously retains its ''right'' to nuclear first-use despite its overwhelming conventional superiority. Recently Germany tried to initiate a debate within NATO on the first-use policy. The USA promptly suppressed it, maintaining its right to retain the first-strike option.

The USA has no problems with dictatorial Communist China possessing and refining nuclear weapons.

Where does India fit in? It has unilaterally pledged no-first use. After 25 years of voluntary restraint, India was forced to go nuclear because it saw that the current nuclear establishment wanted to retain its weapons indefinitely, without working towards universal total disarmament.

The deteriorating security situation in its neighbourhood, the growth of vicious medieval Islamic terror, the massive proliferation to China, and the unchecked nuclear and missile proliferation from China to Pakistan have made it imperative for India to get ready to defend itself by all means.

India has never exported any nuclear or missile technology even though it is not legally bound by any treaties. Contrast this with China which openly flouts the NPT to which it is a signatory.

The USA can make a positive contribution by understanding a fellow democracy's security needs in a life-and-death situation. Total disarmament is the key to solve the global nuclear problem, not limited arms control. A ''do-as-I-say'' attitude will hardly produce results.

Yours etc...
Venkat Sellappan
2421 E.Washington St,
Apt 9-107
Bloomington, IL, USA-61704