New Delhi

Wanted: Governor

In the latest list of postings and transfers of Governors, an incumbent president of a state unit of the Congress Party (Prabha Rau) was named the new Governor of Himachal Pradesh. There have also been instances in the recent past of former Chief Ministers being rehabilitated in Raj Bhawans after they lost out in elections (for example, N. D. Tiwari). Then there have been cases of sitting Governors being inducted into the Union Cabinet (for example, Sushil Kumar Shinde). Also there have been cases of Governors relinquishing office in the middle of their tenure to join active politics (for example, S. M. Krishna).

Cases of bureaucrats close to a political party being awarded with the gubernatorial office post-retirement are also not uncommon.

Irrespective of which political party or alliance is in power at the Centre, they all tend to adopt this unholy practice of accommodating seasoned politicians who are to be given a break from active politics for one reason or the other in the high office of the Governor. Even after adorning the wardrobe of a neutral Constitutional functionary, these incumbents in turn endeavour to implement the agenda of their parent political party, bringing disgrace and disrepute to their office and even inviting the wrath of the judiciary (Buta Singh case).

Is all this appropriate or fair in a democracy like ours? Why not consider only eminent jurists, distinguished members of civil society and persons without any political leanings for appointment to these Constitutional posts, although exceptions can be made for posting ex-defence personnel in disturbance-prone border states?

The Sarkaria Commission’s recommendations on appointment and tenure of Governors have been kept in abeyance by successive governments.

Though the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench (B. P. Singhal vs. Union Of India) is examining the issue of appointment and removal of Governors, ultimately it is for our politicians to adopt healthy practices in this regard.

Of course, I may be politically incorrect!

Hemant Kumar,

414, Sector 7, Urban Estate, Ambala City, Haryana.

Children are regarded as the pillars of our society. Our future depends entirely on their conduct. And education is the only medium that can guide the young on their path towards a bright future. But what happens if the children are deprived of education? What if they are misled by some anti-social elements? How will our society exist if guns replace pens? Quite simply there will be anarchy then.

But such indeed is the situation in Manipur today. There are reports of children being recruited as members of some banned armed underground outfit. Most of these children are as young as 11 to 17 years old. In the past they were recruited as armed soldiers by means of persuasion, but now the situation has worsened and many children are being abducted from their schools. Because of such kidnapping incidents, many children have started abstaining from schools.

There have been protests from all sections of society but the State Government has not taken any effective measures to curb the menace. It is a disheartening situation leading to a great loss for the nation. I pray the government soon does something about this. I also pray that people from other parts of the country lend a helping hand to their fellow-countrymen in the North-East to tackle this havoc.

Hrishikesh Angom,

General Secretary, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), D.M. College of Arts Unit, Imphal, Manipur.

Even five long decades after the introduction of the metric system in India, it is shocking that manufacturers and traders are still at liberty to pack items in dozens and gross instead of multiples of tens. The Union Government should immediately issue orders to make packing other than in multiples of tens an offence in order to discourage use of the archaic non-metric packing system.

Even commodities that are packed by weight or volume should also be available only in decimal multiples of gm, ml, kg and litre. Commonly used medicines other than those packed for dose-wise administration should also be packed in metric units.

Presently items like soap and shaving creams are packed in units like 70 gm or 75 gm to resemble 100-gm packs. Commonly advertised medicines like cough lozenges are packed in strips of eight instead of ten because consumers compare prices per strip.

The amended system as suggested here would eliminate the need to print ‘Unit Price’ which quite frequently is misused by retailers for overcharging by putting a sticker on ‘Maximum Retail Price’.

I think the best solution to the above problem and many others would be to extend the Right to Information Act to the private sector.

Madhu Agrawal,

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

The letter titled “Give Hindi its due” in these columns last Monday repeatedly referred to Hindi as the country’s national language. With all due respect to Hindi, I wish to say that it is not India’s national language. According to the Constitution, it is only one of the two official languages of the country.

In a country where there are more languages than one can count, it is absurd to make any one language the national language. Making any language compulsory and pre-eminent at the cost of others runs counter to the concept of freedom of choice.

Aparna P. Ramachandran,

11/30, First Floor, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi - 110 008.

To fight back the spectre of terrorism, India should tighten its internal security to the level of security at the borders.

Just as there are three well-equipped defence wings guarding the country’s frontiers, there should be a special force recruited from the police and para-military ranks to maintain order within the country. The officers and other personnel of this special force should be given proper training both physically and technically.

It is high time India spent more – and more effectively -- on ammunition and control equipment for internal security.

Akash Deep Choudhury,

B. Tech, 3rd Semester, Room 3009, H-3, NIT, Bhopal – 462 003.

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