Women achievers

Apropos of ‘Women bag top spots’, women of yore were relegated to the background, but with focused education and encouraged by society and parents things have changed for the better for women, bringing them on a par with men. Social sciences affirm that women’s place in society marks the level of civilisation. Indian women have occupied top positions in politics and other fields, including defence. They are now treated as equal to men. Recently a young woman became a fighter pilot. UPSC results confirm their ability and competence, giving a boost to their endeavour and dreams.

BM Singh, Amritsar

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Road safety

Apropos of ‘Prioritise road safety’, it is a matter of grave concern that hundreds of lives are lost daily in road mishaps. There are a plethora of traffic laws, attracting severe penalties for violations, but there is no use putting them on paper when they are observed more in breach than in observance. Ignorance of traffic rules needs to be dispelled by organising awareness drives from time to time and by incorporating a lesson on traffic rules in academic curriculum. Huge penalties introduced a few years ago to deter violations have proved counterproductive, causing a spike in bribery cases.

Roshan Lal Goel, Ladwa

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Traffic violations

Every traffic violator should be fined heavily and counselled about road safety. No liquor shop should be allowed on highways. The government should take the help of modern technology to provide documentary evidences for law-breakers to penalise them without any leniency. Students are allowed by parents, local authorities and school managements to commute daily on bikes without any licence. It is the duty of every citizen to cooperate with the authorities to minimise accidents.

Dilwar Ali Meerak, Tohana

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Aadhaar misuse

Refer to ‘Aadhaar safety’, UIDAI’s warning about the possible misuse of Aadhaar card numbers should have come much earlier, as many private entities demand Aadhaar photocopies, even when they are not licensed to undertake online authentication. Digital photo-editing tools can manipulate images and text. Theft of poorly stored biometric data can undermine Aadhaar-enabled payment systems. The government must regulate biometric and Aadhaar data collection by private entities.

SK SINGH, by mail

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All for ‘success’

Apropos of ‘Horror of education racket’, we are living in an age of meaninglessness and pretentiousness. Our obsession for the elusive idea of success has made us deviate from the path of truth and justice shown by our enlightened forefathers. We seem to have failed to learn any lesson from Gandhi, for whom freedom was an ethical enterprise. Our classrooms lack creativity and the art of nuanced dialogue is missing. Students fail to appreciate plurality and the beauty of heterogeneity. Every parent wants their ward to be placed in a best-ranking institution with higher grades rather than encourage a sense of fulfilment. It is pointless to educate the mind without educating the heart. The cultivation of sympathy and empathy, warmth and compassion is integral to the ever-evolving idea of education. An education that liberates is what is needed.

Kapil Sharma, Kaithal

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Fraud in education

Refer to the article ‘Horror of education racket’; the importance of education in overall human development can’t be overstated. But how bright would the future of the country be when education itself is rigged? Various professional institutes have management seats which are openly purchased, thus sowing the seeds of corruption in the very beginning. Some universities have been in the business of awarding fake degrees. Even Himachal Pradesh has hit headlines with regard to thousands of fake degrees. Embezzlement of scholarship distribution among students was unearthed in the Directorate of Education, HP, in the recent past. There are numerous cases of back-door recruitment of teachers. Universities take years in awarding PhD degrees and see PhD candidates applying for the posts of peon and mali. Can there be more insult to education than this?

KR Bharti, Shimla

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Easy way out

The burgeoning fuel prices have had a cascading effect on the prices of essential commodities, pushing up inflation. The living standards of the common man have fallen as he is compelled to cut expenses on non-essentials to make ends meet. The government lacks sound economic sense and novel ideas. It has found an easy way out by increasing fuel prices from time to time to paint a rosy picture of the economic health of the nation.

Swinder Singh Sangha, Ludhiana

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