British inheritance

British inheritance
With reference to the edit ‘Civil attitudes’, (DNA, March 12), the opinion that an aptitude test for civil service candidates should ensure the desirable attitudes of civility and service, which often are lacking among civil servants, was spot on. Further, it is absurd that even after a civil servant’s retirement, the professional title is displayed after his or her name.
—CS Pathak, Pune

Premature award
This is in reference to ‘Caveat on Bharat Ratna’ by Amulya Ganguli (DNA, March 12), which rightly raises the question of conferring Bharat Ratna on Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin has, no doubt, endeared himself by accumulating accolades and records in his chosen field. So have many other sportspersons, artists, singers and writers in this country. Bharat Ratna is a prestigious award which is conferred on an outstanding individual who has helped reshape the destiny of this country and/or change the course of history. All noise about giving Bharat Ratna to Sachin Tendulkar is a media bubble to create news and should not be given any more importance. It is premature to put Sachin on such a high pedestal at this stage
—Ashok Goswami, via email

II
The article ‘Caveat on Bharat Ratna’ by Amulya Ganguly was fairly balanced. No doubt Sachin Tendulkar deserves the award; his exploits on the field and perfect demeanour off it makes him a worthy candidate for the award. Some truly great names have missed out and some unworthies have found themselves decorated. But all these facts should in no way deter the government in choosing the Little Master for the award. It also may propel the government to pick equally honourable men and women in the coming years for the award.
—Ganapathi Bhat, Akola

Equal opportunities
The role of women in the armed forces was, for a long time, limited to the medical profession, ie doctors and nurses (‘Court orders equal treatment for women in armed forces’, DNA, March 12). From 1992 onwards, women were allowed as officers in aviation, logistics, law, engineering and executive cadres. Thousands of spirited young women applied against advertisements and it was a turning point in the history of time. The emergence of women in male-dominated bastions did create embarrassing moments for both sexes initially. But over the years, men have realised that these women in uniform are efficient and able co-workers.
—Nitin Kewlani, Mumbai