Indo-Pak brotherhood

Inder Malhotra has painted a true picture of the India-Pakistan talks (February 19). As an 83-year-old retired soldier who has seen brotherhood of Hindu and Muslims before Partition, I support a determined and dignified dialogue that leads both countries to a dignified destination. Neither bullets nor bombs have ever brought brotherhood between India and Pakistan. Many people of my generation on both sides of the border would like to break the barrier that has divided the countries. —MULTAN SINGH PARIHAR, Hamirpur

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Cong needs overhaul

There was a time not all that long ago when political life began with the Congress and ended with the Congress. It was after so many sacrifices that India won its freedom. Our leaders were imbibed with the spirit of sacrifice, devotion, vision, integrity and selfless service to the people. But after 1975, there appeared a vacuum in the leadership and the first coalition experiment was done in 1977. But today, the Congress is not the Congress of yore. It is a pity that the organisation has become a sanctuary for notorious, corrupt and criminal self-seekers. The Congress needs overhauling. New leaders with a new vision and new programmes should come forward to set the derailed party on the track. —Dr H KUMAR KAUL, Barnala

Refix PDS rates

It is a matter of concern that in rural areas people are drifting away from farming, their age-old profession. I think the main reason for the marginal farmers’ move is the easy availability of cheap foodgrains in fair price shops under the public distribution system (PDS). The rates of foodgrains for certain categories are as a low as Rs2 per kg. There is a need to refix the rates at not less than 50 per cent of the MSP. Secondly, the selection of BPL families should be foolproof so that no non-deserving person can take undue benefit of PDS. —SANTOSH KUMAR JAMWAL, Hamirpur

Update revenue records

The settlement of Amritsar district happened almost 100 years ago. Since land revenue was the main source of the Treasury then, the revenue record of every landholder was prepared meticulously. However, the residential areas were left out and placed within the Lal Lakir (red line) or lal dora and its revenue record was not prepared. Over time, Amritsar has expanded exponentially. But as per the Land Revenue Act, the revenue record of residential areas outside the Lal Lakir continues to be prepared by the Department of Revenue. After Partition, following the transfer of population, people were settled in houses left by Muslims on claim basis as well as on open auction. Most of such properties fall within the very congested city area and continue to be in the name of evacuee property in the ownership column of jamabandi or record of rights. People did not get the mutations of transfer of such properties sanctioned in their names and the revenue authorities also failed to do it. Such people face great difficulty in selling their properties as the sub-registrars seek copies of revenue record as proof of prima facie title of these properties. Then the mafia people move in and purchase these properties at throwaway prices. The other big cities of Punjab must be facing similar travails. The problem needs to be addressed to update the revenue record. Since the area within Lal Lakir can be changed at the time of Settlement only, measures need to be taken to expand its limits. Settlement has become somewhat irrelevant because of the abolition of land revenue in 1997. —Surinderjit S Sandhu, Amritsar

Soldiers’ woes

Ex-servicemen are grateful to the Punjab Government for exemption of property tax, but the long-awaited decisions of the apex court on cases like rank pay arrears, broad-banding of disability pension and one rank, one pension are still pending. In view of the strong government at the Centre, let us hope for expeditious action  in line with the "good governance" expected. —Lt-Col RL Arora (Retd), Jalandhar

Pending court cases

In the review of the book “Talking of Justice: People's Rights in Modern India” by Justice Leila Seth (Spectrum, February 22), the author has exposed the fragility of the legal, judicial and societal apparatus for ensuring women's rights. She has referred to the backlog of cases pending in courts. Apparently, there is a dire need for setting limits on the disposal of cases. She has rightly stressed that the courts need to discipline themselves for the purpose. Former CJI Justice RM Lodha had suggested working for 365 days to solve the arrears or pendency. At least, the judiciary can cut down summer and winter vacations. Recently, CJI Justice HL Dattu too expressed concern on the backlog of cases. It is desirable to set a time frame in dealing with the pendency issue. The process of increasing the number of courts with competent judges could be initiated. —Dr Gurkirpal Singh, Ludhiana

Pension disparity 

Chandigarh Administration employees who retired before January 2006 have been meted injustice vis-a-vis those who retired after January 2006, though both enjoyed equal salaries and status while in service. There is a lot of difference in their pension. They should be treated equally and not be divided on the basis of a date. They draw pension through the Central Treasury. The government should find a solution to maintaining equality and avoid such disparity. The UT could consider applying the formula of adding pay band and grade pay as is done by the Central governemnt. The same pattern had been applied by Haryana to provide relief to its pre-January 2006 retirees. —JS Dhanjal, Chandigarh

My ‘varmala’

Ram Varma’s entertaining middle “Varmala – then and now” (March 5) reminded me of my marriage with the daughter of a well-known freedom fighter and Tamra Patra holder of Faridkot, in 1971. My disciplined father-in-law had strictly advised me to be punctual and reach Faridkot on time with the ‘baraat’: “Barkhurdar! Waqt par pahuchna na bhoolna” (My dear! Don’t forget to reach Faridkot in time). A bit afraid of the man with Rajputana mustachios, I nodded. But the ‘baraat’ from Patiala reached Faridkot two hours late. And, what I got at reception time was the absence of the arranged Faridkot Borstal Jail band wallahs (They were present there in time!) and disappointment of the respected father-in-law. However, everything else passed on peacefully. Interestingly, the mare I was uncomfortably sitting on was skinny and short-statured! —Prof BM Rawlley, Zirakpur