Letters Gilt Conscious It was interesting to note that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) conducted a survey of uncertified jewellery shops to ascertain adulteration in gold ornaments ("Diluting the 22-Carat Glitter", January 7). Indeed, the BIS was established to provide an independent, third-party certification of product quality. But what is the use of ascertaining the quality of uncertified products? During the past 30 years, there has not been a single report giving details of samples tested by the BIS. The working of the bureau has not been transparent. Prem Dayal Gupta, Indore Passing off impure gold as 22 carat is as bad as collecting deposits and declaring the organisation insolvent leaving customers bankrupt. Of late, most shops in the United Arab Emirates have stopped accepting gold ornaments made in India suspecting their purity and quality. Surely we need stricter controls and checks. Gowri Sankarn, Chennai

Your cover story on the Al Qaida training school was a spine-chilling expose ("The Terror Academy", January 21). It is condemnable that after hijacking Islam and conveniently misinterpreting the Koran, the Al Qaida-Taliban nexus has misguided gullible youth. Equally repugnant is its hypocritically selective attitude towards modernisation. While modern technology is frowned upon, it has no qualms in using it to further its own bloodthirsty agenda. With the Al Qaida desirous of spreading its vicious tentacles globally, it may seem premature to write it off altogether.

Nalini Vijayaraghavan, Thiruvananthapuram

You have perhaps unearthed more information than can ever be gathered by intelligence networks in India. However, having gained the relevant information, our aim now must be to ensure that it is utilised to India's advantage by employing it to prevent and counter terrorist activities.

V.B.N. Ram, on e-mail

Your article detailing Al Qaida's plans to break up our country should serve as a warning shot. One wonders about the role of our intelligence agencies which either remained ignorant about the happenings next door all these years or were lacking in confidence to report the situation to the Government and formulate action plans to counter the enemy.

J.K. Balani, Jodhpur

Execution Deeds

Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's erudite autopsy of the Indian economy and the Government's approach to the problem of the nation's poverty deserves much praise not only for the content but also for the insight it offers ("Poverty of Ideas", January 21). Why he did nothing to change the dismal scenario during his tenure in power is quite a different story altogether.

C.G. Prasad, Chennai

The column clearly illustrated the curse of India whose planners are better talkers than doers. But can P. Chidambaram be a paradigm? If someone as able as him could do nothing as the finance minister, what can we expect of others? Clearly, those in power are more adept at making plans than executing them.

I. Santhakumar, Thiruvananthapuram

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