Respect matters
With reference to “The march of the autocrats” by Pankaj Misra (June 18), every nation in the world is not the same. The change for good can happen only if the local people think about it and act on it. It cannot be imposed. That’s why Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Tunisia are in a mess today.At least now the western powers must respect local sentiments.
Give retirees a break
The fact that despite nine rounds of talks, the Indian Banks’ Association and United Forum of Bank Unions could not reach a consensus is worrisome.
The Government needs to intervene because the pending issues of bank retirees relating to pension updation and increase in family pension, among others, are nearly two decades old. There was some talk of wage revision way back in the 1960s. Since a majority of retirees have crossed the age of 70, these issues warrant urgent attention.
CP Velayudhan Nair
Kochi
Coal truths
The Government should seriously consider promoting Coal India by providing the technology and equipment required. It could meet the coal demand both in terms of quantity and quality. It must tap the reserves through eco-friendly underground mining since good quality coal lies below a depth of 300 metres.
There is also 700 million tonnes of good quality coal in Assam and Meghalaya. This would not only reduce dependency on imported coal but also provide good coal to thermal power stations.
Amar Bhasin
Cherrybrook, Australia
What about SCC directives?
The move to crack down on hoarders is good news, considering the Government has shifted its attention to supply-side economics. UPA-II had treated inflation purely as a monetary phenomenon. Although the RBI was responding to the issue through policy rates, it was not comfortable with these measures. Both Rajan and Subbarao wanted the Centre to take initiatives to curb inflation.
Traders have a tendency to create artificial shortages, often with borrowed funds. Why is the RBI hesitating to issue ‘selective credit control’ directives? They tackle three things relating to bank lending: increasing interest rates, hiking margins, and adjusting level of credit to earlier years’ limits The RBI should take a cue from the finance minister and direct lenders to control credit to traders.
KV Rao
Bangalore
Mutual benefit
Political compulsions explain the hurry to sack governors. For the ruling party, the office of Governor comes in handy to accommodate those who could not make it to Parliament or ministries and reward them for their ‘loyal services’.
By ‘installing’ hand-picked party seniors in the Raj Bhavans, the ruling dispensation in New Delhi in fluid political situations can rely on them to keep a close watch on developments in the state and even to play a partisan role in the furtherance of its interest. It is no exaggeration to say that Raj Bhavans often become the party offices of those who hold the reins of power in New Delhi.
How governors are viewed — whether as the ‘agents of the Centre’ or as holders of constitutional offices by virtue of their ‘eminence’, ‘erudition’ and ‘public service’ — holds the key to the rightness and wrongness of the move to axe some of the UPA-appointed governors. The refusal of some incumbents to step down on their own cannot be entirely delinked from luxuries like spacious mansions, green lawns, culinary delights and other facilities.
G David Milton
Kanyakumari
Poor show
A poverty estimation study by Oxford University describing India as “the poorest” in South Asia is a national shame. To know that we're a home to 340 million destitute people, that is over 40 per cent of all poor in 49 countries, is disturbing. When India boasts 70 billionaires, and is being touted as an emerging economic power, a nuclear state, and the second largest democracy, we should be ashamed of being labelled the poorest after war-torn Afghanistan.
R Prabhu Raj
Chennai
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