New Delhi

Reader's Mail

Khaki terrorism

An escalation in the atrocious acts of Indian police has left the nation aghast. While our ministers express grave concern at global terrorism, why is the khaki terror that is causing havoc in the common man's life here being condoned? A few days ago while I stood in front of a dairy to buy some cheese, a Police Control Room van stopped by and an inspector walked up to the dairy. In a flash the shopkeeper got off his seat and greeted the inspector who was busy smirking, parading his impregnable authority.

As the shopkeeper and other boys assisting him went head over heels to serve this man in khaki, I found that the latter was brazenly leering at a young woman standing next to me. I could see the lady feeling uneasy and anxious, hoping that the inspector would leave. To her and others' relief, the shopkeeper turned up with a large chunk of cheese, more than a kilogram of cream and a bottle of milk and handed everything over to the man in khaki. Gradually the man in khaki, throwing self-conceited glances here and there, made a move to collect more revenue while I tried to find out his name. But just as his sense of ethics and duty was absent, his name-badge too was missing.

Though what happened might seem commonplace to most of us, it made me wonder the extent to which we are scared of the khaki uniform today. Can anyone tell us whom to approach and appeal?

Manasi Gupta,

M.Phil. II (Philosophy),

University of Delhi,

Delhi - 110 007.

Bail yes, bail no

In a number of heinous crime cases including terrorist attacks on civilian targets in recent months, a common feature exposed by investigations has been the graduation of small-time criminals to the ranks of mafiosi mostly after jumping bail granted on initial offences. This exploitation of the legal process by the ganglords is in sharp contrast to the pathetic stories of those incarcerated on frivolous charges and languishing in jails for decades for want of resources and competent lawyers. This glaring irony calls for a major review of the laws pertaining to grant of bail and parole and a serious introspection by legal personnel and the police on an issue which has grave implications for the life and security of millions. We owe it to the numerous victims of mayhem created by the Muhammad Tariqs, Abu Salems and Babloo Srivastavas that the loose ends in the prosecution of criminal cases are rectified at the earliest. No society can completely weed out crime. But communities where hardened deviants have a fair chance of being confined to asylums for required time spans can alone expect their members to feel secure enough to pursue long-term goals in life.

Dr. Devesh Vijay,

Reader in History,

Zakir Husain College,

New Delhi - 110 002.

No kidding, this

Apropos of "Social control of education needed" ( The Hindu , November 12), on another page of the edition there is a headline, "MCD fails to provide uniforms to students". I have no idea of the state of affairs in Kerala, but school education in Delhi is tightly controlled by the local Department of Education (DoE) more than in any other State. The reason is the draconian Delhi Education Act, 1973, and the DoE brazenly ignoring the Supreme Court's 11-judge Bench judgment in the T.M.A. Pai case whose central thrust was to minimise government interference in order to attract greater private investment in education. Evidently the State with its social controls had failed to deliver the goods.

Such is the grip of the DoE that how many periods which teacher will conduct is also dictated by it. Probably in the process of tending every tree the DoE is missing the wood, which incidentally has a variety of vegetation from private unaided schools to government-run Sarvodayas to municipal schools to Kendriya Vidyalayas. All of them are measured with the same yardstick except that the private unaided institutions are more minutely watched because they can be more hospitable to the DoE officers.

Parvez Ghiasuddin,

2154, Gali Qasim Jan,

Ballimaran,

Delhi - 110 006.

Dwarka calling

The much awaited Dwarka flyover in the Capital has been thrown open to traffic providing much relief to residents of Dwarka and neighbouring colonies. It has also reduced the load of vehicles on other roads.

Although the journey time has been shortened considerably for users of the flyover, daily commuters on DTC and Blueline buses are left in the lurch as there are no DTC or Blueline buses plying over the flyover except one or two on route 764 (Najafgarh-Nehru Place via Dwarka).

A large number of people working in Central Delhi, specially Central Secretariat, Gole Market, Connaught Place and New Delhi railway station, are still not in a position to use the flyover for want of buses. Buses like RL-77, 781 and 770 are still using the old routes. Bus No. RL-77 now needs 1-1/2 hours to reach New Delhi station from Dwarka due to long spells of wait at traffic lights, heavy jams on roads and the lengthy route. If these buses are diverted through the flyover, the journey time can be reduced considerably.

Although Dwarka was originally planned as a model sub-city, it still lacks a basic infrastructure like bus terminals despite spaces earmarked for it (Sector 2, etc.).

As a daily commuter on RL-77, I request the Delhi Government and the DTC authorities to operate RL-77 exclusively for Dwarka through the flyover.

Steps may also be taken urgently to construct bus terminals at places like Sector 2. This would give much relief to the daily passengers besides a colossal saving of fuel and fewer traffic jams.

I do hope the authorities will listen and act!

Johny Zacharias,

E-201, Kaveri Apartments,

Plot No.4, Sector-6

Dwarka, New Delhi.

Why only MLAs?

The reports about Delhi MLAs getting a hundred per cent pay increase are welcome. Being social servants they are entitled to a certain standard of perks. However, the Government seems to be ignoring the measly amount of pension given to ex-MLAs. In their case also it should consider giving a raise.

At present ex-MLAs are entitled to only Rs.1,000 a month. It clearly seems to be a case of being in favour when one is in power and totally ignored when out of it.

The Delhi Government needs to realise the plight of the ex-MLAs who in their time worked without any area fund or constituency fund and were in politics only for social service. It must stand by them now.

Mirza Amin Ali,

S/o Mirza Siddiq Ali,

Ex-MLA (Delhi Assembly), Delhi.

(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".)

M.Phil. II (Philosophy),

University of Delhi,

Delhi - 110 007.

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