PICTURE SPEAK

"High & Mighty: Power List 2007", March 26, 2007"

"Money, political influence and glamour seem to be the criteria for making it to the Power List. There is just one social activist in the long list of 50."

Sadanand B. Kumta, Pune

Power Point

The list is an inspiration for one and all, but the real challenge for the famous personalities featured would be to maintain their respective positions in your next issue ("Power Pyramid", March 26).

Navneet Dhawan, Delhi

The number of intellectuals in your annual list has come down considerably, and though you have included media barons, there is not a single writer among the high and the mighty.

Y.G. Chouksey, Pune

It is commendable that each one of the powerful elites on the list have amassed fame and fortune by sheer hard work, intelligence and dedication.

Vineet Bhalla, Bhilai

It is still a man's world. Just a handful of women are to be found in the list every year. Indian women have to catch up fast.

Ranjana Manchanda, on e-mail

Your article throws up some fascinating facts on the entrepreneurial spirit of Indians who have made it to the top. The meteoric rise of the industrialists underscores the positive feeling in the economy.

Bichu Muttathara, Pune

Every year, after going through the 'High & Mighty' issue, the question that comes to my mind is: what is more painful-slipping from position No.1 to No 2, or from being poor to living below the poverty line?

Rajneesh Batra, Delhi

You should not have included the name of Kalanidhi Maran in the list of 50 power people, amidst true blue industrialists and other deserving Indians who have sweated their way to the top. By including him, you have glorified all that is wrong with India-corruption and misuse of power for self-interest.

Anand Kumar N., on e-mail

Tamil Nadu is proud of Maran's achievements. Political influence is a secondary thing for him, and it is only incidental. When nobody thought of tv channels, he ventured into the business. He has risen to his present position by dint of his hard work.

V.S. Sankaran, Madurai

We are fed up of reading about the same people every year. Don't you have other important and interesting subjects to write on?

Ashok Prayag, on e-mail

You identify power with wealth. All the personalities you have chosen are urban. Who in rural India cares about these "powerful" people and their flashy clothes and cars? You should look at people who influence the social and religious spheres of life by their actions. Money is a means to a good life, but not an end in itself.

B.N. Gururaj, Bangalore

I fail to understand how the common man stands to gain just by knowing that Mukesh Ambani has assets worth lakhs of crores. The likes of Mata Amritanandamayi, Swami Ramdev, and SriSri Ravi Shankar are the real 'High & Mighty'.

Dinesh Mungara, Mumbai

Name's Sake

Sonia Gandhi hardly speaks in the Lok Sabha and does not ask any questions ("10 Power People", March 26). She even finds it difficult to talk extempore. Yet she is the prime mover of the Government.

Vibhaker Patel, on e-mail

Catch Him If You Can

Tax evasion and laundering of money worth Rs 35,000 crore by Hasan Ali Khan is a very serious economic offence ("Mystery Man's Billions", March 26). This is akin to the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam, and requires to be thoroughly probed to expose all those involved.

S. Lakshmi, on e-mail

Powerful influences may try to thwart any investigation and even facilitate Khan's exit from the country. Who knows, even ministers may be involved in this racket.

H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, Mysore

It is surprising that while the Government is very meticulous in collecting tax from the salaried class, billionaire criminals like Khan go scot-free without even a pan card.

J.N. Mahanty, Puri

Justice Denied

The suspension of Pakistani Chief Justice I.M. Chaudhry by General Musharraf speaks volumes about the level of intolerance in the military regime ("Where is the Justice?", March 26). The act of executive vendetta against the judiciary is deplorable.

S.K. Gupta, Delhi

The suspension of the chief justice of Pakistan will have a negative impact on the world and serve to strengthen the belief that Pakistan is just another Muslim country where the ruler's word is the law.

Megha A., Hyderabad

A Good Vacation

India's participation in the Berlin travel fair is a welcome step ("Breaching the Berlin Wall", March 26). To attract more visitors to our country, we need positive action at the ground level too. Everything should be tourist-friendly, right from customs to transport and accommodation. We should adopt the Thai concept of 'tourist police', who help visitors by providing information and arranging hotel accommodation, all at controlled and fixed prices.

D.B.N. Murthy, Bangalore

Pet Food Duty Cut Clarified

In the letter by Madhu Agrawal published in your issue dated March 26, 2007, the reader is critical of the decrease in the prices of pet food. But this is not the first time it has been done. The rate of duty on the item was reduced in the Budget for 2000-01 from 40 to 35 per cent. In the Budget for 2002-03, it was reduced to 30 per cent. On both occasions, Shri Yashwant Sinha was the finance minister. These facts were included in Finance Minister
P. Chidambaram's reply to the Budget debate in the Rajya Sabha. We think your readers should know these facts.

B.S. Chauhan, DDG (M&C) (Finance)

THE ABC OF DOG CONTROL

The Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme, which allows the release of domestic animals on the streets after sterilisation, violates the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which states that abandoning any domestic animal on the streets is an offence ("Giga Bite Valley", March 19).

Meghna Uniyal, Pune

It is incorrect to say that the bmp has never addressed the issue of stray dogs. It stopped the gory electrocution of dogs and adopted a scientific approach for controlling dog population and rabies way back in 1999.

Poornima Harish, Trustee, Animal Rights Fund

Since the stepping up of the ABC programme in Bangalore in 2003, there hasn't been a single rabies death.

Ambika Shukla, Delhi

30
Years Ago in India Today
APRIL 1-15,1977

The Oracle of Amethi

Less than two weeks ago, Sanjay Gandhi, 30, was possibly the most sought after political leader. Now prematurely retired from politics and contemplating "serving the people" with "quiet constructive work", Sanjay, the last moghul of Uttar Pradesh, was less articulate in an interview with INDIA TODAY.

INDIA TODAY: What do you have to offer to the people of Amethi?

Gandhi: What I have offered before.

INDIA TODAY: What does the Opposition have to offer?

Gandhi: Nothing.

INDIA TODAY: In Rae Bareli, people are upset over the sterilisations...

Gandhi: I advocate family planning but I have never stood for forcible sterilisation. There might be instances of over-zealous officials. Like in Tamil Nadu, pro-DMK officials went to people and said, "You either get sterilised or go to Indira Gandhi...."

-By Sunil Sethi