Last hope in SC

In reference to ‘Bilkis case shocker’; the release of 11 convicts might destroy the last hope of the common man in honourable courts, the executive and political setup. The members of the Advisory Committee appointed by the government has used the modus operandi of pick and choose. It might have worked for them on the directions of those in power. The Supreme Court may resurrect and nurture the extremely vulnerable fibre of faith in the judiciary. The convicts may take advantage of doubt, lack of evidence, preparing the chargesheet by investigating officers and deliberate manipulations made under the pressure of vested interests. It may render various declarations on the safety of women meaningless. The last hope lies with the Supreme Court.

Dilwar Ali Meerak, tohana

Linguistic chaos

Refer to ‘Tread cautiously on MBBS in mother tongue’; the government’s move to teach MBBS students in Hindi is not feasible. India with its vast variety of languages can’t emulate Japan or China whose languages are largely uniform. If medical education is imparted in different languages, it would lead to linguistic chaos. Translation often leads to poor quality of content. If the government really wants to help students who are weak in English, necessary steps should be taken to improve their English skills.

AMARJEET MANN, Nangal

Regulated banking

Reference to ‘Why modern banks are inherently unstable’; banks in India have withstood the risks coming in the way from time to time. It is on account of sound regulatory mechanism and resilience in the system. The deposit insurance cover of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation up to Rs 5 lakh protects 98% of the total number of accounts as against the international benchmark of 80%. A well-regulated banking system and deposit insurance cover provides a fair degree of confidence in the system amongst customers against any economic or financial crisis, thus alluding to any run on the banks. Further, it is governance rather than structure (public or private) in banks which determines the soundness of a particular bank. Due to its dynamic nature, our banking sector is going through a period of churning, wherein the regulatory role of the RBI is important, besides allowing public sector banks a competitive level playing field with its private peers.

KB Singh, Ludhiana

Give and take

The article ‘India lost and learnt’; suggests that a way forward is to let China keep Aksai Chin and India keeps Arunachal Pradesh. Aksai Chin was never delimited formally and claims and counter-claims are based on traditions, customs and history. During the 19th century, British India made some attempts unilaterally to demarcate the boundary since China did not participate on the ground that boundary is sufficiently and distinctly fixed. WA John, the officer in the Survey of British India, was then appointed to mark the boundary. He showed the boundary much north of the Karakoram mountains and it was further pushed to Keun Kun mountains. A proposal was also made showing Aksai Chin divided along the Lak Tsang Range. No belligerent attitude, skirmishes and even Russia-Ukraine type of war can alter the existing situation. Ultimately, the way to settle the dispute is via mutual discussions and give-and-take attitude.

Brig LC Jaswal (retd), Shimla

Himachal elections

Apropos of ‘HP election battle’, the elections are especially crucial for BJP as well as the Congress, as the state has alternated between both these parties from the 1990s. But even history may not favour the Congress any longer, particularly when Kejriwal’s AAP has jumped into the electoral arena. But it also appears from Kejriwal’s electioneering that the AAP has been investing more time in Gujarat than Himachal. As for the Congress, it desperately needs a win, after having lost both Uttarakhand and Punjab.

MS KHOKHAR, by mail

Scrapping plan

The quashing of the proposed Shimla Development Plan by the NGT is a severe reprimand for the powers that be. The government prepared a draft development plan after a hiatus of about four decades. It was in contrast to the directions of the environment watchdog. The department must have spent a few crores of taxpayers’ money to pay the consultants who prepared the ill-conceived plan. Political parties have long encouraged illegal construction in this heritage town and promised regularisation. The gullible have been taken for a ride but this leaves the town with about 10,000 unauthorised structures. The order is welcome and in consonance with the planning needs of this hill town.

Gurjyot Singh, Shimla

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