Awaiting the dawn
The articles under “Delayed dawn” (August 14) were interesting to read as it shed light on our achievements and failures in the socio-economic and political spheres. We still have to miles to go to become a nation of prosperity and development where everyone gets an equal opportunity to participate, contribute and benefit from the strong economic growth. Inclusive economic growth still remains an elusive dream for millions of Indians. While we can take pride over the fact that we have evolved as a vibrant and mature democracy, we should not be oblivious to the stark reality of corruption of several hues afflicting our democratic institutions and taking a heavy toll on our progress and development. While our metros and urban areas are on the path of development, many parts of our rural areas present a dismal picture with agriculture losing its status as profitable proposition and farmers ending their lives owing to mounting debt and crop failures...Tonnes of food grains get stored in government godowns, but the problem of hunger and starvation has not been eliminated from the ground, reflecting our failure to ensure food security for all. Lack of transparency and accountability in our governance has continued to have a negative effect on the delivery of public services to the people in the country. Prevalence of socio-economic deprivation fuels the fire of Maoist extremism which has emerged as a big threat to our internal security. Visionary leadership which has the grit and determination to tackle the challenges facing the nation is the need of the hour.
M. Jeyaram
Sholavandan
This is in response to Vikram Raghavan’s “Midnight’s children of the Supreme Court”. All the three governance arms, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, are creatures of the Constitution, but the judiciary has the right and the duty to interpret the Constitution. While the degree to which it can intervene in policy areas is debatable, it should be remembered that Part IV of the Constitution itself is titled Directive Principles of State Policy, the provisions therein being considered fundamental to the governance of the country. When the executive (as, of course, the legislature too) fails to implement proper policies in tune with the constitutional spirit, on which the preamble sheds light, or violates them, or when there is no policy at all, it is the bounden duty of the judiciary to step in
C. Divakaran
Thiruvananthapuram
Today, not only is the Supreme Court the people’s saviour, legally speaking, under Article 141 of the Constitution, a law declared by the Supreme Court is the law of the land. When that is the case, the apex court should maintain consistency in its rulings. The SC should not overrule their own verdicts unless they are absolutely warranted. Precedence is a legal scienceand it should be stable. Only then will the verdicts of the SC have a far-reaching effect, besides having a binding effect on the litigant public. Hence consistency in verdicts should be the mantra of the Supreme Court
K. Pradeep
Chennai
Harsh Mander is adept at profiling poignantly the harsh realities of life. In his article, “A fractured freedom”, he captures the predicament of the populace due to 64 years of misrule of the successive governments. By dint of their gluttony to hang on to power and consequent on the deleterious effects of coalition pressure, the Governments will never succeed in navigating the sinking nation to prosperity and freedom. Harsh Mander wonders how many generations it will take to bring solace to the millions who are left out. If the current scenario is any indication, it is sure that the marginalised can never be brought into the mainstream.
N. Sadasivan Pillai
Guntakal
Mirror to society
Can conventional notions of ethics be applied to new, technology-driven media ? A firm No! Emerging platforms do not bring perplexing dilemmas with them. They reflect clearly and decisively the innate and inherent culture prevailing in society. The portrayals by the social media should not be curbed, for it gives an opportunity to civil society to ponder over their own misdeeds, which can never be erased by the peace loving citizens of this world. In the days to come, the social media will play a very big role in exposing the evil devil that resides in many men and women of the present day civil society, bandying about with its so called “cultured” label.
B.R. Kumar
Chennai
