E-Paper
Dragon’s deception
China’s refusal to grant a visa to an IAS officer belonging to Arunachal only emphasises that Beijing has never backed off from its territorial ambitions.
Environment Secretary Prodipto Ghosh’s remarks that India is considering acquiescing to China’s request to allow it to lift its 1993 ban on trading in tiger parts, has spread alarm well beyond India. If India takes such a naive position in the fond belief that it is encouraging an innovative market-based approach to wildlife conservation (for which no successful examples exist anywhere in the world), we will earn the opprobrium of other tiger range countries for not showing enough spine and surrendering to our own systemic incapability.
Nirmal Ghosh, Trustee, The Corbett Foundation (India), Bangkok
Dragon’s deception
China’s refusal to grant a visa to an IAS officer belonging to Arunachal Pradesh only emphasises that Beijing has never backed off from its territorial ambitions. The UPA government has been pussy-footing on the issue in deference to their communist allies who have always been more loyal to China than India. The danger is more from our comrades who double up as sleepers waiting for an opportunity to hand over chunks of Indian territory to China. India’s response has always been muted whenever China has raised the issue of its claim to Arunachal Pradesh.
B Satyanarayana Mysore
Power Play
It is heartening to read Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s strong words aga-inst power theft and corruption in road construction projects (PM flays cancer of power theft, May 29). There are criminal cases against Jayalalithaa, Mayawati, Lalu Yadav, Mulyuam Singh and several MPs and MLAs, but most of them are in power. Political corruption corrupts the bureaucracy and governance. Mere speeches will not help, effective action is needed.
AL Agarwal, Delhi
II
Power theft is taking place right under the noses of those responsible for checking it. It is happening with the connivance of the electricity workers and the police. Complaints from individuals are not entertained.
RS Choudhry, Delhi
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