Mail of the Week

PICTURE SPEAK

"Hot Jobs 2006", February 27

"The scarcity of skilled workers reveals a serious flaw in India's economic planning. It is time it made more room for private players in education."

Shivraj Malik, Guntur

Work Half Done

Steady economic growth and expanding businesses are creating jobs on an unprecedented scale ("The Job Boom", February 27). The reality, however, is that the Indian youth, though well educated, are mostly unskilled. Clearly, there is a mismatch between industry demands and the country's educational thrust. In an era of libralisation, India cannot afford to lower standards of competition, yet the Government is only promoting mediocrity by extending the reservation culture to the private sector.

R.K. Sudan, on e-mail

I do not agree that there is very little talent in India. The problem is that human resource (hr) managers are not ready to think out of the box. Corporate executives prefer to start their own venture after gaining some experience. At the same time, a number of small businessmen under pressure from market forces, such as economies of scale, want to quit their businesses and use their skills in the corporate world. But the hr fraternity in India does not touch this talent pool for reasons that can only be described as irrational and illogical.

N. Chandrashekar, Secunderabad

While opportunities are presenting themselves before the Indians at a breathtaking pace, there are very few who are prepared to grab them. Today, academic excellence is not enough; one needs to consistently develop other skills crucial for success.

Navneet Dhawan, Delhi

Though there has been appreciable economic growth in India since reforms began in 1991, some economists say that it has been a jobless growth, particularly in the industrial sector, where employment and growth matter most in a developing economy. Both the previous BJP-led coalition and the present Congress-led dispensation at the Centre have been too preoccupied with the problems of political management to be able to ensure an economic development that would result in equitable distribution of national wealth.

V.S. Thyagarajan, Chennai

Today's youth work 16 hours a day, whereas, for healthy living it should not be more than eight hours. They rarely get the necessary six-eight hours of sleep. Working in this manner leaves little scope for diversified activities and interests in life. They may be making a quick buck, but it is at the cost of their health.

Mahesh Kumar, Delhi

The article says that there are too many job offers but very little talent. My experience is that employers these days do not want to recruit experienced hands available only because they are on the wrong side of 40. These people have rich experience and can handle tough situations with maturity, yet they find it difficult to get jobs despite being physically fit.

K. Narayan, on e-mail

FAITH DEALERS

I wonder why conversions from Hinduism to Christianity happening daily are not an issue for the media, whereas, a one-time re-conversion attempt by a Hindu organisation is highlighted ("For God's Sake", February 27). D. Srinivasa Rao, Vijayawada What the tribals in Dangs need are not dogmatic beliefs but developmental projects that will help them integrate with the mainstream. Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad If the Dangs district in Gujarat is getting government attention, why should anyone complain? A. Jacob Sahayam, Thiruvananthapuram

Narrow Focus

The head count of the Muslims in the army raises a fundamental question: are Muslims only a minority in India ("Chasing the Minority", February 27)? What about the other minorities such as the Christians, the Buddhists and the Parsis? If viewed from a certain angle, every community is a minority in the Indian context. The Bengalis are a minority in states other than West Bengal. So are the Brahmins and the Shudras. If the doctrine is extended further, even the Indian cricket team can demand proportional representation.

Asoke C. Banerjee, Kolkata

It will be worthwhile to find out how many Muslims apply for a job in the armed forces, their percentage in the entire Muslim population and the number of successful candidates among them. The data should be compared with that of other communities. The "under-representation" of a particular community can also imply disinterest. Muslims probably prefer other professions and this could be the reason for their low representation in the armed forces.

J. Akshobhya, Mysore

The new brand of vote bank politics, manufactured and marketed by the Congress, is unlikely to succeed because the pseudo-secularism business does not yield high returns any more. If the Congress' vote bank politics was a circus that delighted everyone in the past, it has now morphed into a sordid drama with a miserable screenplay and mediocre acting by its star performers. Such communal outlook reflects utter shamelessness and extreme arrogance on the part of the UPA. The policy of the British was "divide and rule". That of the Congress is worse: "misrule, divide and destroy".

T.S. Pattabhi Raman, Coimbatore

There is no dearth of information on the status of Muslims in the country because research scholars have done a number of studies on this. The Government's claim that it requires "authentic information"-as was made while setting up the Rajinder Sachar Committee-rings hollow.

J. Akshay, Secunderabad

The Government seems to be playing into the hands of those who are bent on dividing the armed forces on communal grounds. As a matter of fact, the Indian Army is the best example of national integration in the country. If one were to go through the history of India's armed forces, one would find that it is replete with tales of bravery of Muslim soldiers who have been conferred awards.

Megha A., Hyderabad

Committing Excesses

It is a well known fact that Inder Malhotra had a soft corner for former prime minister Indira Gandhi ("Target Indira", February 27). What is surprising is that his personal disposition dictated his professional obligations in doing a none too honest, half-hearted and harsh review of B.N. Tandon's PMO Diary-II: The Emergency. Malhotra is willing to dismiss the book as "of interest to the historian but hardly to the public at large" as if a historian does not educate the public when he writes a book on a relevant topic.

M.K.D. Prasada Rao, Ghaziabad

Asking Inder Malhotra to review a book by Tandon and that too on Indira's infamous excesses is like asking Saddam Hussein to review a book by George W. Bush. The jaundiced eye does not make a true evaluation.

S.S. Rajadhyaksha, Pune

The New Indian

From politics only two men, that too belonging to influential political families, were featured as young achievers ("Brand New Dream", February 20). Isn't there a single self-made political leader in the whole country?

Aviram Sharma, Delhi

Clarification

It has been brought to our notice that there has been misinformation about a graphic that we had carried in the issue dated February 27, 2006. The picture has been wrongly portrayed as being part of a playing card. We want to emphasise that the frame was only designed to depict an Ace strategy of the government to woo the minorities as part of a larger issue. It was not our intention to hurt the sentiments of a community in any way, and if it has generated any such feeling, we sincerely regret this.

-EDITOR

"The scarcity of skilled workers reveals a serious flaw in India's economic planning. It is time it made more room for private players in education."

Shivraj Malik, Guntur

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