Unpardonable act

Sarbarah Arur Singh’s despicable act of honouring General Dyer, the perpetrator of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, cannot be condoned (‘Simranjit Singh Mann defends grandfather who honoured General Reginald Dyer’). The ‘honour’ will remain a blot on our history. Sarbarahs, like other important gurdwara functionaries, were British appointees and remained their stooges. They never cared a hoot for Sikh traditions and ethos.

BAKHSHI GURPRIT SINGH, JALANDHAR

Logic behind ranking?

Reference to ‘Institute ranking system’; the evaluation of higher education institutions is certainly a futile exercise. Two reputed global institutions — Times Higher Education, London, and QS (QS World University Rankings) — annually evaluate over 1,600 universities across 99 countries. Evaluation and ranking by these bodies is based on performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. The Indian ranking by the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) is merely wastage of time and energy. Do we put any effort, at any level, to strengthen the weak areas in Indian universities? If not, what is the rationality behind the ranking system?

VK Anand, Chandigarh

Manipulating ranking

Reference to ‘Institute ranking system’; the main purpose behind the ranking should be to raise the quality and standard of education, but this objective is seldom envisioned in the long exercise of evaluating an institute in the light of the responses to the questionnaire designed in a mechanical manner. The fact is that our educational system is grossly commercialised and even good rankings are managed with the help of graft and slush money. Even PhD degrees are bought and no pains are taken to explore topics extensively and intensively. The passion that is a prerequisite for PhD is conspicuous by its absence.

Roshan lal goel, by mail

Need strong Oppn

Apropos of ‘CJI: Shrinking space for Oppn not good sign for healthy democracy’, the CJI’s concern is not unfounded as a strong Opposition is a must for a vibrant democracy. A government with brute majority often tends to exercise unrestrained political power and tends to frame arbitrary laws, negating the very principle of democracy — government by the people and for the people. Ignoring the Opposition can be construed as gross disrespect of voters who have elected representatives from Opposition parties.

ROOP SINGH NEGI, Solan

Ayurveda holds promise

Every medical science should be subject to scrutiny and the same goes for ayurveda. At the same time, it must be kept in mind that this ancient form of medicine offers promising results in the long term, like treating the root of the disease, has minimal side effects, and is an effective treatment. Ayurvedic practice of medicine must be encouraged and funded in a planned manner so that it may thrive in the right manner.

Rewant Sharma, by mail

Food-borne diseases

Food-borne diseases are a growing concern in India, costing 15 billion annually at present and the number of cases is expected to rise to 177 million annually by 2030. All state health departments are silent on the issue. Even FSSAI officials are not helping. The government is taking steps to promote good quality food in the country and has launched initiatives, such as ‘Eat Right India’ to transform the food ecosystem. The government laid emphasis on chemical-free farming in the last budget as well. Indians are consuming about 70,000 metric tonne of pesticides every year, including those that are banned in other countries for causing cancer.

SC DHALL, ZIRAKPUR

Population growth

The burgeoning population is the mother of all ills that India is facing today. Despite our progress in all fields to achieve supremacy, we are bogged down due to rising population (‘India to surpass China as most populous’). For this dubious distinction, our leadership is squarely responsible. In our democratic setup, votes are the only means to achieve political power. So, politicians would never raise this sensitive issue to avoid public ire. The nation is choked due to huge rush in almost every public place, like airports, bus stands, hospitals, educational institutions, roads, parks and markets. Instead of bullet trains, we should focus on the rising population. The government should introduce a Bill on the control of population.

KARNAIL SINGH, Kharar

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