Missile firing incident
Pakistan’s reaction to the explanation offered by India regarding the accidental firing of a missile which ended up in the neighbouring country cannot be construed to be exaggerated or far-fetched, coming as it did from a hostile country that Pakistan is (Page 1, March 13). In fact the rather lame explanation being offered in an attempt to play down the incident — and quite embarrassing for India — is on a par with the ham-handed handling of the weaponry itself. Steps must be taken to avert the recurrence of such egregious lapses in a nuclearised weapons environment.
Ayyasseri Raveendranath,
Aranmula, Kerala
It is very hard to believe that a missile could have been ‘fired by mistake’. It is indeed fortuitous that there was no damage caused. What if it had landed in a populated town or city? Pakistan could have easily claimed that it was an act of war, leading to some very unpleasant consequences. The Government must come clean on whether the controls of the missile were hacked. In a nuclear-ised environment, such a mistake could mean death and destruction to an unimaginable degree.
Anthony Henriques,
Mumbai
India has handled the situation with care and utmost responsibility and has expressed regret. And Pakistan too has shown maturity by understanding the gravity of the situation and even asking its Indian counterparts to explore the possibility of having a joint probe. The matter can be sorted out.
Anjna Kumari,
Bhadroya, Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh
Ukraine students
While it is a relief that Indian students were evacuated safely from Ukraine, there is worry ahead. Their future is at stake and completing their courses amidst the confusion will be a challenge. The evacuation has only brought to light the problems and the challenges that need to be addressed in medical education. Money and politics do play a role in this. One hopes that the State and Central governments have steps in place to ensure that the road ahead for these students is secure (‘Tamil Nadu’, “Reclaiming a medical degree from a war zone”, March 13).
Suhirthi Maharani,
Karur, Tamil Nadu
Self-enumeration
It is in the fitness of things and befitting the pace of Digital India that “Citizens can self-enumerate in [the] next Census” (Page 1, March 13). This would accelerate the process that was put on hold due to COVID-19. The only drawback could be the authenticity of the data and information given by individuals.
K. Nehru Patnaik,
Visakhapatnam
EVM ‘blame-game’
The Assembly election results have jolted the Opposition parties. Even before counting began, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav began sowing the seeds of doubt about electronic voting machines The West Bengal Chief Minister too came up with a similar line. It is baffling how these leaders accept EVMs when their parties win but are very critical when these parties lose.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) gave an opportunity to the Opposition and critics to prove that EVMs can be tampered with. But none of them had the courage to do this. One hopes that the ECI acts with alacrity and puts an end to the spread of wrong information.
M.R.G. Murthy,
Mysuru
Unjust cut
It is shocking that the EPFO’s Central Board of Trustees has recommended the reduction of the interest rate on retirement savings (Page 1, March 13). There are lakhs of workers and staff working hard in various sectors and undergoing much hardship but still hoping to earn reasonable returns to help them after retirement. The step might help the Union government, but it is unjust and unfair to workers. The Government has been generous in writing off public sector bank loans when there has been wilful default; we still do not know the names of the offenders! Hence, the Government must respect the working masses and retain the present interest rate.
M. Govindaraj,
Gudiyatham, Tamil Nadu
Over a period of time, the EPF has become the only saving fund with some value on account of its interest rate. Any reduction in this will affect the working class. If the aim is to save money, then steps such as imposing a ceiling on government pensions and multiple pensions can be thought of. The fundamental objective of a pension after retirement is to remain self-dependent economically and not to help a person maintain a lavish lifestyle! The data on those in receipt of multiple pensions are an eye-opener. In our country, there is no viable financial security system for people on the margins and who are in need of a decent EPF after retirement.
Ravi Bhushan,
Kurukshetra, Haryana
