Criminals in politics

Refer to ‘Anarchy in UP’; it is true that laxity on the part of the escorting police made it easy for three men to gun down the gangster brothers, but at the same time, it shows that gangster MPs are a part of Indian politics. Both victims belonged to the world of crime and were facing murder charges in a number of cases. It is a sad commentary on our polity. Despite the Supreme Court’s strict direction that no candidate with criminal antecedents should be allotted tickets, political parties are allowing criminals to contest. The Election Commission must strictly implement the direction of the court in letter and spirit, lest lawbreakers become lawmakers in the corridors of power.

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Maheshwer Sharma, by mail

Many questions

Apropos of ‘Anarchy in UP’; Atiq Ahmad was a dreaded don and more than 10 judges recused themselves from hearing his case in the past, but that does not mean that he should be ‘allowed’ to be killed in front of cameras, with the police standing by. The killings have put a question mark on the UP Government. First his son was killed in an encounter, and after two days, he was killed along with his brother. If the police cannot verify killers in the guise of media personnel and protect criminals in their custody, they have more than a few questions to answer. The case must be probed thoroughly to find out whether some mastermind was involved and what was the real motive.

Bal Govind, Noida

Shooting at will

Criminals in UP are so emboldened that they can shoot people in police custody! It is surprising that such killings are hailed by media and the public. When law ceases to operate, it becomes a free-for-all. It is strange that no policeman was hurt when the killers were pumping bullets into the victims. Killing anybody on the pretext of an encounter is wrong.

RAMESH GUPTA, NARWANA

Seemed stage-managed

A lot has been written, shown and said in the media about the scene of the fatal shooting of Atiq and his brother. The video clip shows the shooters lying with their hands stretched in front, and, very casually, policemen appear to face the cameras. As per protocol, the shooters should have been pinned to the ground with their head down and their arms crossed at the back. The whole scenario, even to a lay man, appeared to be a stage-managed photo session for a magazine rather than a crime scene.

VK Anand, Chandigarh

Govt must clarify

Reference to ‘Congress seeks answer on former Governor’s claim on Pulwama attack’; former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik’s claims that PM Modi had instructed him to remain silent after he brought to light the security lapses that led to the Pulwama attack is disturbing. These allegations levelled by a Governor who was appointed by the BJP government itself are very serious. There has been no statement from the government to confirm or deny the allegations. The government must clarify the issue involving the safety of our security forces.

Balbir Singh Kakkar, Jalandhar

Merit is required

Refer to ‘The cult of meritocracy’; the writer seems to blame contemporary education for becoming mechanical and drab and causing mental pressure among students. But the reality is that no matter which system of education a society adopts, some method of ranking and merit will have to be evolved. After all, no society can possess unlimited resources and institutions to provide training and learning avenues to all aspirants. The economic dictum that there is competition between ‘limited means and unlimited wants’ forces you to choose the best from the limited means for optimal results. So, competition to select the meritorious students is imminent, and stress and anxiety a natural corollary. But certainly, socio-psychological experts must devise best practices to assuage the anxieties caused due to such struggles for excellence.

Vikram Chadha, Amritsar

Why quota at all?

Whatever the writer has written is correct in its own way, but who will speak about the stress of a so-called forward caste student whose father is a clerk and he cannot get into a good college, leave aside an IIT, but the son of an IAS officer from a ‘backward’ caste gets admission (‘The cult of meritocracy’)? What is the justification of caste-based reservation in today’s India, where children of the rich and powerful corner most of the reserved seats? Let merit be the only criterion for higher education. The government may provide free coaching to the deserving poor students from all castes.

Ashwani bansal, by mail

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