Shortcomings in security

THE ongoing hijacking of IC-814 has brought into sharp focus certain shortcomings in our security and electronic media apparatus. Some of those cannot wait for an analysis later on, as even now they affect the security and safety of the passengers held captive at Kandhar.

Whereas it is no one’s case that the public does not have a right to information, the powerful electronic media must take care that their news analysis on the hijacking should be measured, professional and does not make an already explosive situation more explosive by suggestive details of how the plane itself could come to grief or the passengers possibly killed at the hands of the hijackers. There is no need to play into the hands of the hijackers and provide free publicity to them, and frightening to death the relatives of those who are on board. I am afraid the pretty mundane lot of experts with an honourable exception or two, on most of the TV news channels have only made the task of the government a lot tougher, by airing their assessments of the situation, and the TV anchors ever more so, by their incessant quest for instant results and information, which is difficult to come by in such fluid moving circumstances such as these.

About the security aspect the less said the better. Every IA flight touching any of our neighbouring countries is supposed to have armed marshals for security purposes dressed as civilians, to take care of an Amritsar-like situation. This practice of armed marshals was followed by IA when I was posted at Kabul and Kandhar in the 80s, and one wonders if it is still prevalent. The delay also in mounting effective counter measures at Amritsar is one of the many loopholes that needs to be plugged. Whereas the local DC and SSP were available to take charge of the situation immediately, the DG Police of the state could have very easily travelled in an IAF helicopter from the local Chandigarh IAF station and landed on a helipad. (or even without one), on any of the army unit helipads dotting Amritsar cantonment, before the hijacked aircraft had even touched down at Rajasansi. It is, however, regretted that two former DGs Police are out to make scoring points at Mr Sarabjit Singh for it must be understood that in such conflict-like situations, the ideal person to handle the immediate contingency is the local district administration. Only a detailed enquiry later on will bring out whether they failed, if at all, in their task. An added suggestion is that all airports located near the IB, especially across Pakistan, must have in situ, a contingent of the anti-hijacking squad present at all times.

Major General Himmat Singh Gill (Retd)
Chandigarh

Cattle menace

It seems a joke; HUDA, Panchkula, is at the receiving end now. The cattle menace, which had always been there and increased after the demolition drive, is now playing havoc with HUDA plantation itself, having exhausted that of the residents. When one goes for a walk in the morning, one finds cattle grazing the hedges on the dividers recently it was the turn of the divider hedge on the roads in Sector-5.

Hope HUDA needs to be serious and pull up the staff responsible for it and for maintenance of hedges and the watch and ward/security staff meant to tackle the stray cattle.

SAKSHI KHANNA
Panchkula

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Outdated preception

Going by the reports (The Tribune, Dec. 15) of the controversy over the conversion of the celebrated author Kamla Das, any rationally thinking person will wonder over the futility and absurdity of some sections of human society being fundamentally driven by and divided into religious beliefs even during present times when the need to have love and compassion is all the more.

No other living being in nature is differentiated by religious beliefs. How would we react if we were to learn that there are animals (dogs, horses etc.) belonging to a particular religion or some pigeons or parrots having undergone conversion or a particular breed of monkey killing its fellow being on grounds of variations in religious beliefs.

We do not differentiate a fish by its religion before eating it or have a pet dog of a particular religion. Animals, birds and plants all have life and thank God they are not divided by religious faith. God must be looking at human race divided by religions the same way we would look at other living beings under such conditions.

V.C. SOOD
Ludhiana

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Strange logic

There was a news item in The Tribune dated December 12 under the heading “Temple issue rocks Rajya Sabha”, in which it was stated that “the Rajya Sabha witnessed uproarious scenes with the entire Opposition demanding that the Gujarat government be directed the Centre not to allow the Hindu Jagaran Manch to lay the foundation of a Rama temple in a Christian majority village in Surat district”.

If a Hindu temple cannot be installed in a Christian majority village, then the reverse of it should also be applicable, and no church should be allowed in Hindu majority localities and villages. What the Opposition parties led by Dr Manmohan Singh have to say if such a proposal is given? Is their secularism confined to speaking against the Hindus? Why they could not advise the Christians to be liberal and accommodating like the Hindus, who do not mind construction of churches in Hindu majority areas.

If the Hindus were even half as much aggressive as the Christians are, there would have been no Christians in India altogether.

ANAND PRAKASH
Panchkula

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Go metric

It refers to the interesting report “30-day February theory farcical, not unfounded”! The present calendar reformed by Pope Gregory in late 16th century is not properly systematic. There is no logic in having haphazard month-week relationship with different weekdays on different dates. Even number of days per month are different with February being unusually the shortest with just 28 (or 29 in leap-years) days without any logic. Nehru Planetarium (India) should take a lead for some perfect reforms in the present calendar system at the international level. A week may be of 6 days each with first 11 months of the year having 5 weeks each, thereby making months from January to November of 30 days each. However, the last month of December may have 6 weeks with first five weeks of normal 6 days each, and the last extra week in non-leap years of just 5 days, thereby making same weekday for every date in the year. In a universe with people of various faiths, start of a calendar must coincide with a day of some astronomical importance. A new year may start on the present 24th December, the very first day after the shortest day of 23rd December!

Metric system of time should be introduced with a day subdivided into 10 metric hours. Each metric hour may have 100 metric minutes and each metric minute may have 100 metric seconds making a complete day of 100000 metric seconds instead of present 86400 seconds, making suggested metric second only slightly shorter than the present second!

SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL
Delhi