Beasts called humans


THIS REFERS to the news report Man’s arms chopped off over Rs 200 and the photograph of the helpless bus conductor recuperating in a hospital (October 5). The news has sent a chill down one’s spine. That an unscrupulous man in the greed of pelf and profit could wreck such extreme vengeance by maiming a victim for life is tragic and reprehensible.

This outrageous act by a man against another needs to be dealt with sternly and the culprit handed out the severest of deterrent punishment expeditiously. What is all the more shocking, is the complacence and reluctance of the police who have not even registered a case as yet. Even a layman can read between the lines and suspect vested interests at play; how come the concerned authorities remain silent and not spur them to action?

Will the poor continue to suffer like this? Would the government and the judiciary be a mute spectator to such grievous crime that a man inflicts out of malice and gets away with by greasing the palms of the concerned authorities? What would be the fate of the victim without any compensation when he deserves it at least on humanitarian or compassionate grounds?

D.P. GANGULY Delhi

Re-writing history

THIS HAS reference to K. Y. Shrenik’s letter Temples of a secular society (Sept 29) which asks whether studies have been made to identify “hundreds of Jain and Buddhist temples destroyed or converted into Hindu temples by Hindu rulers”. History is written and re-written and it is the winner who writes it. Israel’s re-emergence as a State after 2,000 years and the birth of Pakistan out of India are classic examples. During the British raj, history books taught that the Gupta dynasty’s rule was the golden period of India. When the power passed to the Nehru dynasty in 1947 and the Marxist ideologues got the upper hand, the text was changed to read that the Mughal rule was India’s golden period.

After 50 years’ intellectual exercise, the Indian Marxists have unearthed just three Hindu kings — Pushyamitra Shung (187 BC), Shashank of Bengal (7th century) and Harsha of Kashmir (12th century), alleged to have destroyed Buddhist temples and persecuted the Buddhas. However, the evidence against them based on Buddhist texts, is fragile and rebutted by noted historians. The destruction of about 3,000 Hindu temples is well documented by contemporary and subsequent Muslim historians and European travellers.

RAM GOPAL

Delhi

Unveiling scams

APROPOS of the report Congress now unveils oil scam (Sept. 28), the zeal of Kapil Sibal in ‘unearthing’ one ‘scam’ a day is really amazing. It’s a pity that his relentless search for ‘scams’ have ended the day the election were over. Sibal could have easily found his name in the Guinness Book for a record number of ‘scams’ he had ‘unveiled’.

S. TALUKDAR

Delhi

Axing the eucalyptus?

THERE COULD be no greater stupidity than to axe all the eucalytpus trees in Delhi. In nature every species has a definite virtue and all the species are required for sustenance and maintenance of this universe. In fact, a professor at Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, had proved that eucalyptus consumes 35 per cent less water as compared to other specie of trees and has far greater potency in purifying air pollution and in medicinal values. No country has ever destroyed this tree. Eucalyptus is one of the best environment purifiers and Delhi needs more of them being one of the most polluted cities.

KAILASH GROVER

Delhi

Misleading propaganda

THE MASS hysteria whipped up against the Sardar Sarovar project is an ideal example of how misleading an ill-informed and incendiary propaganda can be (Are big dams harmful, Sept. 28). People have taken stands without gauging the ramifications of their decision. A celebrity like Arundhati Roy, who has been espousing the anti-dam movement, had led to further inflammation of passions, which have little rationale. The dam is a necessity for Gujarat, most of which comes under a rain-shadow zone, leading to inordinate rainfall in the Narmada Valley. In fact, the whole idea of the Sardar Sarovar project was conceived after a long struggle by the peasants of Gujarat, who suffered from floods during the monsoosn and dry spells at other times.

RAJAT SETHI

Delhi

Oil in troubled waters?

IMPORT OF edible oil has almost doubled during one year benefiting the oil producing and exporting countries and the MNCs which export the edible oil to India. The indigenous oilseed industry could only provide half of the demands, for the imported oil has captured 50 per cent market. More foreign currency has to be paid resulting in loss to the public exchequer.

SHASHI SHARMA

Delhi

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