THE article “25 years of shame” (December 18) should prod our politico-judicial system to do some soul-searching. Imagine a Bhopal-like tragedy in the U.S. The perpetrator would have been prevented from leaving the country in the first place, and the victims would not have been allowed to die in wretched conditions. They would also have got more compensation than the paltry Rs.25,000 that many gas tragedy victims were given. It is a shame that the government lacks the resolve to arrest Warren Anderson. Should the victims of Bhopal pay for the government’s nonsensical objective of wanting to attract foreign capital?

Syed Sultan Mohiddin
Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh

Babri Masjid

HAVING taken 17 years, with some 4,000 sittings, over 48 extensions and about Rs.8 crore, the Liberhan Commission Report (Cover Story, December 18) reveals nothing extraordinary. Justice Liberhan owes Indian taxpayers a refund.

J. Akshay,
Secunderabad

THE Liberhan report was unfortunately leaked to the media before being tabled in Parliament. While the media cannot be blamed for making its contents public, the Congress-led UPA government is fully to blame as it was “sitting” on the report since June 30. With the government’s Action Taken Report recommending no punitive action against any of the indicted, of what use is the Liberhan report?

S. Balakrishnan
Jamshedpur, Jharkhand

THE demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the massacre of Sikhs in 1984 are dark spots in the history of independent India. Unfortunately, every minor issue is politicised in the name of religion, region or caste.

A law providing exemplary punishment for misuse of religion, caste, and so on, for political gains has been suggested by the Liberhan Commission. Such a law should also cover regionalism.

Mahesh Kumar
New Delhi

HISTORIAN D.N. Jha stated that Tulsidas lived at Ayodhya with the Babri Masjid, which had been built not long before, and wrote Ramacharitamanas there. No government or political party is concerned about national interest, and historical structures should not be left in their care. Why was the lock to the masjid opened on the orders of a district magistrate? Clearance should have been obtained from the Archaeological Survey of India and the Army.

Shiv Shanker Almal
Kolkata

THE government should not allow its decisions to be sabotaged by the politics of agriculture (“Bitter story”, December 18). The price of sugar has risen exorbitantly. The Centre has already made it clear that the fair and remunerative price takes care of every issue. In India, where a huge population is uncertain of its meal for the day, the FRP ordinance would have given respite to the poor.

Manoj Sharma
Sriganganagar, Rajasthan

MANY members of the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes are still deprived of socio-economic benefits (“Victims always”, December 4) and suffer at the hands of the authorities, feudal lords, neo-capitalists and even their empowered peers.

Twenty years after the S.C. and S.T. (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, States have largely failed to implement it. The plight of the S.Cs and S.Ts must be seen within an integrated development framework and not in isolation.

Atul Kumar Thakur
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

IT is no surprise that Dalits are still being persecuted and are considered third-class citizens. “Upper-caste” government servants have to change so that legal provisions against untouchability can be strictly enforced.

G.E.M. Manoharan
Coimbatore

THE articles “Across Zanskar” (November 20) and “The dizzy heights” (December 4) were satisfying. The photographs were gorgeous. At a time when speed is the order of the day, the author takes one on a leisurely tour of the precipitous mountain passes.

M. Sethuraman
Chennai

ANNOUNCEMENT

Letters, whether by surface mail or e-mail, must carry the full postal address and the full name, or the name with initials, of the writer.