Adding to the list

The editorial The pallor of money (June 9) was a strong message for politicians and a counsel for them to adopt the ethical path.

Adding to the list

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The editorial The pallor of money (June 9) was a strong message for politicians and a counsel for them to adopt the ethical path. However, one politician’s name, etched in the halls of dubious fortune, was left out. This is none other than former Chief Minister of Haryana, Om Prakash Chautala, who looted the state during his tenure and amassed wealth of thousand crores. Any news on the CBI investigations of that case?

Sasi Kumar
New Delhi

Go for the real issues

There has been needless hype created by news channels on the Rahul Mahajan case. Lost in the Mahajan overdose was news about farmers in Haryana who, unable to repay debts, had consumed pesticides (A tale of debt and death, June 5). While it’s shameful that that the authorities haven’t been able to tackle debt-related farmer suicides yet, it is a reflection on the media that there is no concern for the plight of the farmers.

Instead of wasting time on issues that fall in the category of semi-entertainment, the media should have been present in the villages where farmers are reeling under debts. The media can make the government uncomfortable like no other force can.

Poornima Makin
via e-mail

II

Rahul Mahajan is the police’s and media’s new toy. What tabloid journalism is abroad passes off as investigation here. Insensitive reporting is pitched to be what the viewers want. We can assure you that Rahul Mahajan’s case is fit for the smallest of capsules in the local news. He is neither a public figure nor does he have any impact on people’s day to day life.

Kirti D Singh
Mumbai

III

There are more pressing problems than Rahul Mahajan’s arrest for drug abuse. Are newspapers and news channels blind to the issues that really need to be talked about? Life is a daily struggle for most of India. Inflation, poverty, terrorism, the increasing Naxal menace are but a few areas that always interest the news watchers. There is no dearth of subjects that can make excellent TV news too.

Surely, editors know that the audiences have tired of what young Mahajan did out of boredom? Where are the tenets of reflecting audience’s troubles, or have these been buried forever?

JL Ganjoo
New Delhi

IV

Like many celebrities before him, Rahul Mahajan is being victimised by overzealous police and media. Poor Rahul. He has to face all this just after the tragedy of his father's death. That’s just not done. This is the new face of the Indian paparazzi — ruthless, uncaring, intrusive and arrogant.

Look at the way a news channel handled the Sahil Zarru’s arrest. The poor guy and his lawyer were held by the hand and forced to speak on camera! The media must learn to behave. The police should also behave instead of allowing its senior officers to come live for hours on end. Senior police officers must learn to be discreet.

Nirmal Kumar
New Delhi

Missing the wood...

The reservation policy mooted by the government makes me fear for the children’s future. Instead of providing essential education to the underprivileged, we want them to walk into the IITs, IIMs and the AIIMS.

Developing their calibre, instead, will automatically empower them to walk in with pride into these premier institutions. With reservations, it is questionable whether the pace of economic development will continue at the same level of quality and quantity. Reservations can’t promise equality and no one knows this better than the Prime Minister.

Superna Sood
New Delhi

High on Fanaa

Aamir khan’s film Fanaa has ultimately been released in some theatres in Gujarat. As far as commercial projects go, the controversy has fuelled an interest in the movie.

The call for a ban may have been an over-reaction but it is true that Aamir Khan didn’t bother to understand the various aspects of the Sardar Sarovar dam rehabilitation process before joining the protests. His film’s doing well. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Gujarat border, the lives of villagers displaced by the Narmada dam construction remain unchanged. Perhaps, Khan needs to continue his good work.

Avanindra Mishra
New Delhi

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