IT is interesting to know that research by the World Health Organisation has found that signals from television sets and radios are far more powerful and pose a greater health risk than those from mobile phones (“Cell phone & the cell”, May 9). It is healthier to play games on mobile phones than to listen to FM radio and watch television! But playing games on mobile phones can be addictive, especially for children.

Mahesh Kapasi
New Delhi

Reservation

THE Supreme Court has come up with a sensible verdict on reservation, given the exigencies of our times (Cover Story, May 9). After upholding the constitutional validity of reserving 27 per cent of government jobs for Other Backward Classes, the court could not have struck down a similar provision with respect to Central educational institutions. But the ruling will lead to insoluble problems because it will not be easy to identify the “creamy layer”.

The court has shown great insight in declaring that reservation cannot continue in perpetuity and that there should be a periodic review. While the Centre is yet to review the progress made by the beneficiaries of reservations so far, the number of castes and tribes in the backward list has been swelling. It is unlikely that the ruling party, forever trying to appease its vote banks, will be too keen on such reviews.

J. Akshobhya,
Mysore Karnataka

THE article “Equity in education” points out that the Supreme Court judgment upholding the validity of the newly introduced Clause 5 in Article 15 is a great achievement in the struggle of the Backward Classes for a greater share in educational opportunities. The Central government has been consistent in defending the cause of the Backward Classes. The provision for the exclusion of the creamy layer from the ambit of reservations is reasonable.

H. Syed Madani
Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu

THE members of India’s Constituent Assembly, who framed the longest Constitution in the world, never thought of reservation for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes as a permanent arrangement. A decade was considered sufficient for such affirmative discrimination.

S. Raghunatha Prabhu
Alappuzha, Kerala

EXCLUDING the creamy layer from the ambit of reservation may ensure that the law favours those who truly need reservation. However, backward castes often demand the status of the socially disadvantaged irrespective of economic status. Has reservation become a palliative rather than a cure?

J.S. Acharya
Hyderabad

Nepal Maoists

THE victorious surge of the Maoists in Nepal’s Constituent Assembly elections is the result of a dramatic assertion of democratic aspirations in one of the poorest countries in the world (“Rebels as rulers”, May 9). The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) appears unstoppable in its march towards making Nepal a republic.

Vani A.
Hyderabad

IT is easier for a group to wage war than to govern and fulfil promises made while occupying opposition space. Only if Prachanda and his team succeed in living up to their promises can it be said that genuine transformation has taken place.

Dr. Nutan Thakur
Lucknow

Caste bias

THE news of the Uthapuram wall (in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu) fitted with an “electric fence” and meant to keep Dalits out of public spaces in the village is shocking. It is baffling that the wall was allowed to stand for nearly two decades (“Wall of bias”, May 9). The incident gives the lie to claims that caste divisions have been weeded out. Just removing the electrical device from the wall is not enough.

K.R. Srinivasan
Chennai

ISRO and IMD

THE India Meteorological Department’s decision to import Doppler weather radars when the Indian Space Research Organisation has the technology to develop DWRs is unacceptable (“Growing disconnect”, April 25). ISRO has proved its credentials time and again. There should be a better mechanism in place to ensure the best possible coordination among top research organisations of the country.

D. Bikramsingh
Cuttack

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