Amit Shah not wrong

Apropos of ‘What it is to be educated?’ no nation can progress as long as it has a large population of illiterate people. Besides honestly paying taxes, the educated employed have little time for altruism. In the ultimate analysis, it is not the governmental sops, but the individual’s drive, initiative and hard work that helps one progress in life, for which a sound education is an essential prerequisite. Life is all about survival of the fittest. One reason why freebies decide the fate of many elections in India is the illusory feeling of prosperity and entitlement it confers on the recipients, who don’t seem to realise that there are no free lunches in economics. The Home Minister should be complimented and not chastised for calling a spade a spade.

V Jayaraman, Chennai

Real education

Apropos of ‘What it is to be educated’, a student goes through the challenges of a transitional era in terms of history and culture. Life itself is a grand teacher. In the history of man, before the emergence of educational institutions, men were ‘educated’ and wise, too. Education is not the monopoly of schools and universities only. Shakespeare was not a university wit, but today, every university wit pays homage to him. Wellington, Napoleon, and even Churchill, were not the best in school. We are assessing the importance of everything by its volume. Material prosperity is judged by the rise and fall of per capita income. The strength of a country is evaluated in terms of the number of nuclear weapons. Education is not the amount of information one has. Of what use are the fragments of knowledge?

Anil Bhatia, Hisar

Reschedule, don’t waive

Waiver of bills or writing off loans sets a wrong precedent (‘Punjab Cabinet waives Rs 1,868 crore water bills’). The so-called weaker sections of society is exempt from payment of such bills. Some members of this section in Punjab have monthly income in six digits and still enjoy the doles offered by the state government. This step will burden the honest taxpayers in the form of new taxes. Payment of bills should be rescheduled, not waived.

Upendra sharma, by mail

Farm export policy

Refer to ‘Stable, long-term policies can turn the tide’; in spite of government claims, the condition of farmers has not changed and the recent laws won’t be helpful, unless the government comes up with a concrete farmer-friendly export policy. Area-specific crops should be encouraged, with government support of quality seeds, fertilisers and guidance by the experts to meet the international export standard of commodities. The government must create storage facilities at the district level and ensure the supply lines to facilitate speedy movement of grains for export. It must also work on the diplomatic front to ward off the pressure tactics of European countries to discourage our export. Over and above, the local marketing system should be made farmer friendly to enable them to benefit through the MSP system.

Darshan Singh Bhathal, Nangal

The US tilt

India’s tilt towards the US may invite the wrath of the anti-America lobby (‘Multilateral track’). India was at its best when it devised and propagated non-alignment. We need to take a cue from our past that equivocation is the best strategy for developing nations like us. The importance of US in world politics is imminent but the past loyalty of Russia cannot be ignored. Israel can be a good ally but the Arab world is a necessity for our oil-centric economy.

SANDEEPAN, Panchkula

Full-time Cong president

With regard to ‘Congress prez poll by Sept 20 next year’; the Congress has not had a full-time president since Rahul Gandhi stepped down after the party’s defeat in the 2019 General Election. An ailing Sonia Gandhi had returned as interim president because the party could not convince Rahul to stay on or find a replacement for him. The ad hoc nature of the arrangement has caused a communication breakdown within the party, which has contributed to the emergence of the G-23, which has indicated its preference for a more transparent and collective leadership. In the absence of regular meetings and a clear chain of command, the Congress has been making mistakes, resulting in a loss of direction and the shrinking of its electoral footprint. The most important task is to put in place an institutional mechanism for the party to respond quickly and collectively to political challenges.

MS KHOKHAR, by mail

J&K situation

Refer to ‘Army Chief on two-day Jammu visit’; the situation in J&K is very tense. The targeted killings of non-locals and minorities has led to fear in the mind of residents and migrants who came for employment opportunities. The security forces must chalk out a plan to tackle this situation and build confidence in the minds of the people.

Ritish Pandit, Sunhet

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