Responses to verdict in Gujarat massacre

Responses to verdict in Gujarat massacre
This has reference to ‘Gujarat’s Ode massacre: 23 convicted, 23 acquitted for 23 deaths’ (April 10). Whenever media people talk about the Gujarat riots, they never forget to mention the term ‘post-Godhra’. Why? It seems like by doing this they try to justify the riots that followed. I think this is not fair and the practice should be stopped.
—Arshad Riyaz, Rudauli

II
The news that 23 have been convicted for the post-Godhra riots in a Gujarat village has been received with a mixed feeling of relief and pity. Relief that though belated, the verdict has brought some solace to the kin of the riot victims and pity that the 23 convicted who are just the small fry, may have to face the gallows for the brutal act while the masterminds and real perpetrators of the genocide are still at the helm of affairs in the government and the ruling party and the long arm of justice is yet to reach the said real brains behind the 2002 riots. We can consider it a real justice only when those big fish who are alleged to have induced and instigated the mob are brought to book, subjected to impartial enquiry and sentenced with the maximum punishment.
—Tharcius Fernando, Chennai

Matters of security
Apropos ‘3 service chiefs called to reveal ‘true picture of preparedness’ (April 10), the corruption among the top echelons of our armed forces and the bureaucracy running it is well-known. Corruption in defence procurement started in the days of Pandit Nehru  with the ‘Jeep Scandal’ in which  his confidant VKK Menon was involved . It is also well-known that year after year, thousands of crores of taxpayers’ money goes down the drain in the purchase of substandard fighting equipment, through a criminal conspiracy between the corrupt bureaucrats of the defence ministry and the middlemen of arms suppliers, who are invariably retired defence personnel. In the process the country has been made prone to enemy attacks, as was clearly brought out in the 1962 Chinese debacle. General VK Singh might perhaps go down in our military history as the only honest top military officer who revolted against the system and also paid for it.
—Subramanian Venkataraman, Govandi

Disappointed reader
It is surprising to see that DNA publishes articles of people like Javed Iqbal (April 9) and Firdous Syed. Iqbal is a pro-Naxal who demeans SPOs and anyone who fights or opposes Naxals. He has never bothered about the police and security forces who give up their lives fighting to restore law and order in different parts of India. Syed is a pro-Kashmir separatist. A national daily like DNA must behave with more responsibility to denounce such articles to reduce their influence on the youth of India.
—Annada Prasad Udgata,
via email

A physics point worth considering
As a physicist I would like to point out that a speeding bus turning to the left will topple to its right and not to its left. Toppling of the bus to its left is due to a sudden turning on the right side. This is also evident in the two pictures you printed in the April 7 issue. One can notice in the pictures that both front wheels are at a right turning position. I am surprised that the BEST which should know from its experience also subscribe to the general public opinion expressed in the media. According to the above evidence I feel the driver statement that “I tried to save the biker by taking a sudden right turn” is at least consistent. The BEST can do further investigation to arrive at a conclusion before dismissing the driver.
—Dr Suresh Kumar, BARC, Trombay

Need for e-governance
This has reference to the column, ‘Why bureaucracy is going into deep freeze’ (April 10) by Seema Kamdar. It is an intelligent eye-opener mentioning “…desperate times call for desperate measures…”. However desperate measures should not be faulty measures. It is high time that e-governance be fast implemented, making ISO-certification essential. While a citizen-charter may satisfy the external customer (public), internal customer satisfaction shall be addressed through ISO, whereby an individual’s efficiency can be measured in addition to the collective efficiency of an office - each link should be a motivator for the next link. The Gujarat government has successfully adopted this approach. Maybe that is the golden point for Gujarat shining.
—Suresh Ranka, via email

Cross about crossword
Like a gramophone needle stuck on the record, you have been printing the same crossword for three days in a row! A hat-trick is applauded only on the cricket pitch, as a crossword puzzle it is annoying and disappointing.
—Anil Bagarka, JB Nagar

Editor’s note: We apologise for this error that was caused by a loophole in the system. It has been fixed.

Moment of pride
Ace Indian pugilist Vijender Singh proved that he still has a lot of fight left in him by reaching the semi-finals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers, a feat which has put him on the plane to the London Olympics. After looking clueless and out of sorts in last year’s world championship where he fell at the first hurdle, the 26-year-old has bounced back strongly to assert his class and silence his detractors. For all those following his matches, it was apparent that all the extra yards he had put in following the setback has done him a world of good. The feat is a rare distinction for Vijender Singh and makes him only the first Indian boxer to post three consecutive Olympic appearances. With the kind of form he is in, it will be no fluke if he goes on to lift the crown.
—NJ Ravi Chander, Bangalore