Bright young things

Sir — In the penultimate sentence of his article, “The state of the nation” (Sept 14), Ashok Mitra claims, rather unjustly, that only the dregs of the country’s youth enter the civil services and are hardly equipped to become “rescuers of the nation”. An individual’s academic brilliance is not and should not be the benchmark for his eligibility to perform state functions. Besides, there is no reason to suppose that those migrating to countries like the US are the best brains that India can produce. There is a great demand for skilled workers in the developed nations. Thus engineers, doctors and management graduates who apply for positions there face less competition than, say, people with the same qualifications competing for jobs in India. If the administrative services are not sufficiently attractive, it is because of the many hurdles they put in the path of an entrant. The hurdles start with the entrance examination and continues throughout the service period because of the nepotism and corruption that have become the hallmark of civil service in India. Surely no scholar, technocrat, medic or consultant who has gone abroad has had to face the kind of hostile work atmosphere that our civil servants have to deal with.

Yours faithfully,
S.N. Mitra, Calcutta

Sir — Ashok Mitra’s article, “The state of the nation”, made for interesting reading. India, being the largest democracy in the world, also has the dubious distinction of having the maximum number of elected legislators who hold a criminal record. It is thus hardly surprising that the majority of our leaders should be mediocre and incompetent.

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta

Sir — I have two points of contention with Ashok Mitra’s article. First, a recent study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India indicates that our bright young job-seekers, nearly 70 per cent of them, are gradually shifting from the private sector to the civil services in search of employment because of the job security afforded in the latter. Second, India definitely needs dynamic presidents and vice-presidents who will ruthlessly clean out the nation’s Augean stables. All our prime ministers have, for the most part, turned a blind eye to the corruption and criminality that prevails in the system in order to ensure that their own vote banks are secure. After all, “absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Yours faithfully,
Jayanta Dutta, Calcutta

Ignoble behaviour

Sir — The apathy and callousness faced by the national award-winning teachers in the capital are most upsetting (“Prize and pain for noble teachers”, Sept 10). Those who travelled all the way to Delhi to receive this prestigious award are the pride of our nation and did not deserve to be abused or pushed around by official Delhi, which could not grasp the real significance of the programme.

If the human resource development ministry honestly intends to pay respect to teachers, it should first ensure that these shameful incidents are not repeated. For that to happen, the HRD ministry needs to investigate the charges instead of shrugging them off. It cannot expect its honourable guests to rush to the police station and lodge a complaint. The teachers were state guests and should have been accorded due respect.

Yours faithfully,
Susmita Chakraborty, Calcutta

Sir — The way the national award-winning teachers were treated in New Delhi is shameful. Siddhanth Verma, with his indomitable spirit, has not only excelled in his profession, but also out- shone the able-bodied, who seem to have given vent to their frustration through their snide remarks. How can the HRD ministry expect people like him to file a police complaint? Would that not have besmirched the image of the teachers and the president? The president’s office also cannot be absolved of charges of irresponsibility by passing the buck to the HRD ministry. The dishonour shown to the teachers amounted to dishonour for Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, whose birthday Teachers’ Day commemorates. Pratibha Patil should ask for a report from the government.

The episode is in stark contrast to the Madhya Pradesh government’s mission to strengthen teacher-student ties. The state education ministry has made it mandatory for students to touch the feet of their teachers to show their reverence.

Yours faithfully,
Subhankar Mukherjee, Borehat

Parting shot

Sir — In the report, “Nagaland laces boots” (Sept 13), the correspondent says that the Subroto Cup is organized in the memory of the late Subroto Mukherjee, the Air Chief Marshall who died in Tokyo. But I wonder from where he gathered the information that Mukherjee had died “while investigating the death of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose”? Mukherjee and Air Commodore (later Air Chief Marshal) P.C. Lal were in Tokyo in November 1960 to mark Air India’s inaugural flight, when Mukherjee reportedly choked to death in a restaurant.

Yours faithfully,
Anuj Dhar, New Delhi