For AAP to note
By spending crores, quite clearly from the exchequer, for a victory rally, the key swearing-in ceremony and also on extensive print and TV media advertisements, it is evident that the Aam Aadmi Party, in Punjab, is still in election mode. How can AAP prove to be a party with a difference? The AAP government is expected to have a clear plan for jobs creation. This can also be done by encouraging investment to set up agro-food processing units, which will help rural youth who are now frustrated being underemployed or unemployed. Clamping down on the drug mafia and loot in sand mining (a gold mine for the corrupt in the police, the bureaucracy and some in politics) is a must. Environmental issues need a prominent place in the AAP agenda. The fulfilment of election promises, some as freebies, should not divert its focus from having an effective development agenda.
Brij B. Goyal,
Ludhiana, Punjab
Hijab judgment
The hijab issue was being exploited by unscrupulous elements to sow the seeds of unrest and disharmony. A certain section of the political class may be looking at this as an opportunity to make gains when ‘they’ are on a losing spree nationally. However, students should not fall prey to these machinations. Any self-inflicted interruption in their academic schedule would prove disastrous in the long run. There is a great responsibility on the part of parents to prevail upon their wards. If some students have decided to contest the decision in the highest court of the land, they should wait for its verdict. India is a democratic country and there are ample avenues where one can get one’s grievances redressed.
V. Subramanian,
Chennai
It is unfortunate that the judiciary has taken a rather narrow and technical stance. While the question of identifying the essentials of a religion is sure to be mired in contestations, it is in fact absurd to look at the issue through the lens of religion itself. Moreover, while it may somehow be possible to rely on texts to analyse the essentials of a religious tradition, this exercise itself fails to answer for the non-textual religious traditions. Also, counter-productively, this assumes a fixed-for-ever practices of a religion. Finally, the petitioners and their supporters too perhaps erred in not grounding their argument upon the rock-solid foundations of freedom of conscience, as promised under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution.
Firoz Ahmad,
New Delhi
Spreading Montessori
It is good news that the Greater Chennai Corporation is going to increase the Montessori environment in the schools it runs (Chennai, March 16). This will help remove the elitist tag from the Montessori system by shattering the myth that: the Montessori system of education is too expensive; very sophisticated teachers are needed for teaching, and this system is not suitable for underprivileged children. The Greater Chennai Corporation can also extend the method up to Class two for better results.
Padmini Gopalan,
Chennai
