Mail of the Week

PICTURE SPEAK

"Muslims: A Shocking Divide", August 14

"The cover story dispels the belief that discrimination against Muslims is the reason for their low representation in the public sector."

M. Muthukrishnan, Bangalore

Minority Report

It is easy to blame the majority community, academic institutions and the government for the educational status of the minority community. Muslims, however, should themselves give priority to education, especially to that of girls, to derive the benefit of the country's 8 per cent-plus rate of growth in the coming decades ("Muslims: A Shocking Divide", August 14). India cannot become a developed nation without our minority population participating and contributing in its economic growth.

Kanak R. Nambiar, Karaikal

Madarasa education alone will not help Muslims tread the path of development and prosperity. They must endeavour to integrate and interact with the many social and cultural facets of the country for harmony and prosperity.

K.V. Raghuram, Wayanad

There is a deliberate attempt to thwart literacy among Muslim women. The community should be convinced of the need for education, which is possible only with the assurance that there is a future for it in India. Muslims should take a cue from the people of Tamil Nadu, who have helped the state develop by extending their hospitality and allowing-over many centuries-people from other states to settle, conduct business and own properties in the state.

Rama Karupaiah, Chennai

You do not seem to have taken into account the fact that many Muslims are opposed to the Census and do not take part in it. Therefore your statistics may not be entirely accurate.

Nitin D. Joshi, on e-mail

You seem to be advocating reservation for Muslims in your article. Advocating spread of education among Muslims is good, but reservation will evoke a strong response from the society. It robs the dignity of the beneficiary, as he is seen as getting something without earning it.

B.N. Gururaj, Bangalore

Muslim religious leaders are known to take refuge in narrow interpretation of religious tenets to retain control over their people. Imbibing progressive ideas, rather than depending on government sops, is the only way to solve the problem.

H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, Mysore

Your story is silent on the high rate of growth of Muslim population. The government provides equal opportunity to all, but if a section of the society does not realise the necessity to restrict population growth, whose fault is it?

T. Anil kumar, on e-mail

Census 2001 reveals two major causes of higher poverty among Muslims: abysmally low work participation of women, and high birth rate. Omission of these important facts tends to give an avoidable slant to the story.

R.K. Ohri, Delhi

Message for Mumbai

Your special report on Mumbai is commendable ("Mumbai: A Special Report", August 14). Politicians and bureaucrats have to be engaged to improve civic amenities in the city. NGOs all over the country have the potential to spread an awareness among urban intelligentsia that for improving the quality of life, their participation in civic activism is a must. The approach has to be inclusive; priority should be given to those projects which benefit the maximum number of citizens.

J.M. Ovasdi, Jaipur

A good number of pages devoted to the qualities and problems of Mumbai, where wealth and growth co-exist with filth and chaos, helped highlight the ill-effects of urbanisation. Mumbaikars deserve appreciation for adapting to the trials and tribulations.

K. Jiji Panicker, Alappuzha

Every time the city is faced with a calamity, natural or caused by anti-social elements, it resurfaces stronger than ever. While the resilience of the people of Mumbai is extraordinary, this bouncing back to normalcy is not so much out of courage as it is out of their necessity to carry on with a busy, urban life.

Nidhi Khoria, Bangalore

Don't Ground Grammar

The decision to make the examination system flexible and take learning away from the rote method is welcome, but making English grammar unnecessary is worrisome because such an incomplete education cannot help Indian students compete with their foreign counterparts ("Dumbing Down", August 7).

Shakeba Tasnim, Patna

End Mole Mania

EMPOWER GRASSROOT

In a vast country like India, Panchayati Raj is the best tool to bring democracy to the grassroot level, decentralise power, improve education and empower women. But we still have a long way to go. Perhaps Union Minister of Panchayati Raj Mani Shankar Aiyar will be able to strengthen and support the system. A. Jacob Sahayam, Thiruvananthapuram The panchayat elections conducted in Andhra Pradesh smack of political opportunism and chicanery. The democratic values and dynamics of decentralisation that panchayats are supposed to symbolise are lost in confusion and trivialisation. Karanam Rao, Kurnool

The sudden, manic search for a "mole" and besmirching of the reputation of civil servants, serving and retired, by gossip and innuendo is ridiculous ("Singh Vs Singh", August 14). It is best to end this episode. If the Prime Minister sees merit in a quiet internal inquiry, he should go ahead with it.

Padmini Raghavendra, Secunderabad

Fickle Media

We are too sentimental as a nation ("Falling Into Fame", August 7). The Prince episode is a perfect example. The army did a good job of rescuing the boy, but what was the need for minute-to-minute television coverage of the incident? Whenever the media hypes up an event, we follow it closely, only to move on to another piece of "breaking news" as news channels shift their focus. It seems we cannot stand up for a cause long enough.

Colonel R.D. Singh, Jammu

Belated Realisation

For nearly half a century, we lived only on empty slogans and tall promises of poverty-alleviation ("Poverty Redefined", August 14). Post-liberalisation, we have realised that maimed beggars and starving children diminish our stature in the eyes of the world, rather than enhance our pride, as our socialist idealogues would have us believe. We have not conquered poverty, but we have taken a step forward in redefining it.

T.S. Pattabhi Raman, Coimbatore

Left, Change Track

The Left parties are only interested in usurping power and not in the uplift of the public, whom they claim to represent ("For the Left Might is Right", August 7). The frequent strikes by the Left are a liability on the nation and their opposition to privatisation-which makes things cheaper and improves quality-is silly. But the agenda of the Left is headed for a change, induced by the impartial, aggressive media and the awakening masses.

Biranchi Narayan Acharya, Cuttack

Insurance Premium

In a country where car loans are cheaper than tractor loans despite the fact that more than 65 per cent of its population depends on agriculture, a health insurance scheme targeted at farmers is commendable ("Card to Rural Relief", August 14). Such schemes should be launched in all states. It is ironic though that the Government, which is behind this novel scheme, has otherwise failed to pump any life into rural healthcare.

Rajaram Mohan Roy, Chandigarh

Next Change

The idea of an emotional Bhai was so endearing that it instantly caught the fancy of a comedy-loving audience ("When Bhai Meets Bapu", August 14). It remains to be seen whether the sequel will live up to the expectations.

Sarika Srivastava, Ahmedabad

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