Time to focus on people’s progress

The November issue of your magazine is highly analytical and commendable . You have accurately assessed that the state of our farmers’ economy today is very likely to hold the key to the prospects of political parties in the upcoming elections across the country. The gap between what the National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised before it came to power at the Centre and the current state of our national economy is very wide. I am sure this will result in seachanges in the people’s response while voting for the new governments’ formation at the Centre and in the States in coming months. I wonder when our political parties would be committed to the development of people. Regrettably, in the recent decades , they have been increasingly aligned with certain privileged mercantile and casteist and communal gangs. In the process they have hardly cared for the development of the Nation. The Nation in a democracy means the masses, not its rulers. All development has to be people-friendly. Father of our Nation Mahatma Gandhi rightly stressed development would be meaningful only when there is antyodaya (development of the last man) in our Nation. Our political leadership must understand this basic in governance.

V. Krishna
Durg

Looking for total truth

M J Akbar In his article , “ #MeToo v. M J Akbar,” (Power Politics, November 2018), Hari Jaisingh had done it well to stress that women’s dignity is at stake in this whole episode. I hope the media would take to self-introspection and take such steps as would make it free from any criminal elements within. The media is branded as the indispensable Fourth Estate in our Republic. It has its own social responsibilities. It must fulfil them. Or else, all its gospels of morality that it preaches from time to time would be meaningless.
I would take this opportunity to thank the on-going #MeToo Movement for having revealed the stories of sexual crimes that have been committed in the media sector in our Republic. I hope the Movement would have the entire truth revealed in due course. So far, we have had just some glimpses of partial truths .
Going by the accounts of one boss and his wife, whatever, including the rape, happened was all ‘consensual’.
An insider chipped in the other day that the boss had a pattern of preying on and sexually abusing/assaulting. The boss manipulated that his junior was alone and vulnerable to be assaulted. When will we know what the super-boss/ the boss of the boss/ other co- shareholders had been doing all along. Are they not supposed to keep surveillance over what goes on in a particular company ?

A Reader

Voice against sanctions

Angela Merkel vowed to impose more sanctions on Iran . I doubt it will work. If news reports are to go by ,German Chancellor Angela Merkel is unlikely to cooperate. Bonn rejects U.S. sanctions. It provides state credit guarantees to German companies that do business in the Islamic Republic. Germany exported $3.42 billion in merchandise to Iran in 2017. After the 2015 nuclear deal German-Iranian trade could soon surpass $10 billion per year. Over 10,000 German businesses conduct trade with Iran-based 120 German companies operate . Some time back the Krempel company (German) sold material to merchants based in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. The components were used in Iranian-produced rockets containing chemicals used to gas Syrian civilians in January and February of 2018. The Krempel company does business with Iran and has a distribution center in the United States. Besides, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is not appreciative of Washington’s Iran action . It has ruled that the U.S. must lift sanctions on humanitarian goods such as medicines and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities, for Iran. The sanctions on such goods breach a 1955 “Treaty of Amity” between Iran and the U.S. Such sanctions might have a serious detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals in Iran.

Krishna Mukherjee
Kolkata

Mandir-Masjid dispute

The Supreme Court must deliver its judgement in the Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid dispute case as early as possible . The final hearing in the appeals against the Allahabad High Court’s compromise judgment of 2010 ought to have begun a year ago. It was delayed because some parties wanted the reference to a larger Bench. They wanted so that certain observations in a Constitution Bench decision in the Ismail Faruqui (1994) case could be reconsidered. The apprehension was that remarks to the effect that “a mosque is not an essential part of the practice of Islam” and that namaz can be offered anywhere, even in the open, would influence the outcome of the appeal. The U.P. Sunni Central Wakf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla must not communalize the issue

T R Pillai
Chennai

Talk for peace

Atal Bihari Vajpayee The late Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a statesman . He went to Lahore with a message of peace . Even after the Kargil war which claimed 527 Indian jawans , he invited then Pakistan dictator Pervez Musharraf for a talk in India . Prime Minister Narendra Modi must follow him . He must meet his counterpart Imran Khan. In 2014 Prime Minister Modi invited former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in. Modi went to Lahore in 2015 to attend a family function of Sharif and greeted him without even any official formalities. Khan is receptive . In his first statement after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerged as the single largest party, Khan offered to walk “two steps for every one step” that India took. Khan has tweeted that trade and resolution of differences through dialogue are the “best way” to “uplift the people in the subcontinent”. The situation at the Line of Control urgently needs attention. A restoration of the ceasefire would be a major move forward for both countries. Pakistan would earn an economic breather if he adheres to the international Financial Action Task Force’s demands on ending terror financing. Khan must address India’s concerns on the support to terrorists in Pakistan, and those being pushed over the LoC. To move forward Pakistan and India must resolve their conflicts including Kashmir: The best way to alleviate poverty and uplift the people of the subcontinent is to resolve our differences through dialogue and start trading.”

Cauvery Chakravarthy
Kolkata



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT REALPOLITIK GLOBAL AFFAIRS FRANKLY SPEAKING BANK FRAUDS DATA WARFARE QUALITY OF GOVERNANCE POLITICO-ECONOMIC WISDOM QUALITY OF EDUCATION TAMIL POLITICS KARNATAKA BYPOLLS OPPOSITION PARTIES ANDHRA POLITICS CHANDIGARH DIARY HIMALYAN ECOLOGY HITS & MISSES OBITUARY BOOK BAZAAR BONE MARROW TRANS.. A PAGE FROM HISTORY SIGNS OF THE TIMES REMEMBERING PRES KALAM INTERNATIONAL FILMS YOGA IN DAILY LIFE ART OF LIVING Issue:December' 2018 Subscribe Now	EDITOR’S MAIL Time to focus on people’s progress The November issue of your magazine is highly analytical and commendable . You have accurately assessed that the state of our farmers’ economy today is very likely to hold the key to the prospects of political parties in the upcoming elections across the country. The gap between what the National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised before it came to power at the Centre and the current state of our national economy is very wide. I am sure this will result in seachanges in the people’s response while voting for the new governments’ formation at the Centre and in the States in coming months. I wonder when our political parties would be committed to the development of people. Regrettably, in the recent decades , they have been increasingly aligned with certain privileged mercantile and casteist and communal gangs. In the process they have hardly cared for the development of the Nation. The Nation in a democracy means the masses, not its rulers. All development has to be people-friendly. Father of our Nation Mahatma Gandhi rightly stressed development would be meaningful only when there is antyodaya (development of the last man) in our Nation. Our political leadership must understand this basic in governance. V. Krishna Durg Looking for total truth M J Akbar In his article , “ #MeToo v. M J Akbar,” (Power Politics, November 2018), Hari Jaisingh had done it well to stress that women’s dignity is at stake in this whole episode. I hope the media would take to self-introspection and take such steps as would make it free from any criminal elements within. The media is branded as the indispensable Fourth Estate in our Republic. It has its own social responsibilities. It must fulfil them. Or else, all its gospels of morality that it preaches from time to time would be meaningless. I would take this opportunity to thank the on-going #MeToo Movement for having revealed the stories of sexual crimes that have been committed in the media sector in our Republic. I hope the Movement would have the entire truth revealed in due course. So far, we have had just some glimpses of partial truths . Going by the accounts of one boss and his wife, whatever, including the rape, happened was all ‘consensual’. An insider chipped in the other day that the boss had a pattern of preying on and sexually abusing/assaulting. The boss manipulated that his junior was alone and vulnerable to be assaulted. When will we know what the super-boss/ the boss of the boss/ other co- shareholders had been doing all along. Are they not supposed to keep surveillance over what goes on in a particular company ? A Reader Voice against sanctions Angela Merkel vowed to impose more sanctions on Iran . I doubt it will work. If news reports are to go by ,German Chancellor Angela Merkel is unlikely to cooperate. Bonn rejects U.S. sanctions. It provides state credit guarantees to German companies that do business in the Islamic Republic. Germany exported $3.42 billion in merchandise to Iran in 2017. After the 2015 nuclear deal German-Iranian trade could soon surpass $10 billion per year. Over 10,000 German businesses conduct trade with Iran-based 120 German companies operate . Some time back the Krempel company (German) sold material to merchants based in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. The components were used in Iranian-produced rockets containing chemicals used to gas Syrian civilians in January and February of 2018. The Krempel company does business with Iran and has a distribution center in the United States. Besides, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is not appreciative of Washington’s Iran action . It has ruled that the U.S. must lift sanctions on humanitarian goods such as medicines and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities, for Iran. The sanctions on such goods breach a 1955 “Treaty of Amity” between Iran and the U.S. Such sanctions might have a serious detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals in Iran. Krishna Mukherjee Kolkata Mandir-Masjid dispute The Supreme Court must deliver its judgement in the Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid dispute case as early as possible . The final hearing in the appeals against the Allahabad High Court’s compromise judgment of 2010 ought to have begun a year ago. It was delayed because some parties wanted the reference to a larger Bench. They wanted so that certain observations in a Constitution Bench decision in the Ismail Faruqui (1994) case could be reconsidered. The apprehension was that remarks to the effect that “a mosque is not an essential part of the practice of Islam” and that namaz can be offered anywhere, even in the open, would influence the outcome of the appeal. The U.P. Sunni Central Wakf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla must not communalize the issue T R Pillai Chennai Talk for peace Atal Bihari Vajpayee The late Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a statesman . He went to Lahore with a message of peace . Even after the Kargil war which claimed 527 Indian jawans , he invited then Pakistan dictator Pervez Musharraf for a talk in India . Prime Minister Narendra Modi must follow him . He must meet his counterpart Imran Khan. In 2014 Prime Minister Modi invited former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in. Modi went to Lahore in 2015 to attend a family function of Sharif and greeted him without even any official formalities. Khan is receptive . In his first statement after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerged as the single largest party, Khan offered to walk “two steps for every one step” that India took. Khan has tweeted that trade and resolution of differences through dialogue are the “best way” to “uplift the people in the subcontinent”. The situation at the Line of Control urgently needs attention. A restoration of the ceasefire would be a major move forward for both countries. Pakistan would earn an economic breather if he adheres to the international Financial Action Task Force’s demands on ending terror financing. Khan must address India’s concerns on the support to terrorists in Pakistan, and those being pushed over the LoC. To move forward Pakistan and India must resolve their conflicts including Kashmir: The best way to alleviate poverty and uplift the people of the subcontinent is to resolve our differences through dialogue and start trading.” Cauvery Chakravarthy Kolkata