Learning curves

The nexus of politicians in the commercialisation of education (‘Education is commercialised now’, DNA.Sunday, November 26) in the state has led to under-staffed and under-equipped colleges, ill-trained teachers and substandard education. The government allots land for such institutions at a very nominal rate and politicians utilise the subsidised land to build highly commercial educational institutes with no facilities and substandard infrastructure, but high fees, NRI quotas, irrational admission procedures and poor quality of students. The AICTE should have done something to stem the rot years ago. —Uday Ananth Pai, Mumbai.

A big deal indeed

Finally Congressional negotiators have finalised a US-India agreement that will allow civilian nuclear trade between India and the United States (‘US House approves Indo-US nuclear deal’, DNA, December 9), by either eradicating or diluting the language of several provisions objected to by New Delhi. The stage is now set for the landmark Henry J Hyde United States India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006 being put into effect. This is a big breakthrough for India though it needs to be careful and examine all the clauses thoroughly. —Shailesh Kumar, Bangalore.

Batting for success

After another top order collapse on day one of the tour game, it was nice to see Sourav Ganguly and Irfan Pathan play well. They rescued India from a precarious position where another wicket would have seen the continuation of their dismal performance in South Africa. However, the grit and determination displayed by these two men under the scanner of the media, fans and selectors was good to see. Let’s hope that the other cricketers follow their lead. It was indeed great to see that Ganguly played so well (‘Is Ganguly India’s man of destiny?’, DNA, December 7) on his first match day on a tour in which so many have not been able to get going. The fire in the Bengal tiger’s belly was there for everyone to see. —Kairav Parikh, Mumbai.

Involve the farmers

The protests in Singur and similar protests are understandable. In many cases farm land is acquired by the government forcibly for industrial projects and the compensation given to farmers is a pittance (Bengal’s pain, DNA, Decembe 6). Why not follow the Magarpatta City model where the farmers themselves are stakeholders in the project.
The government and corporates must try this model, specially where a lot of land is involved and many families stand the risk of displacement. This is also the best way to contain dissent among farmers whose land is being acquired. Corporates must also help improve the quality of life in the villages in which they are setting up their plants. —Derek Saldanha, Pune.