Vox pop

We can’t count on our numbers if we don’t make them really count

We can’t count on our numbers if we don’t make them really count

HT Image

The editorial We’ve to make 1.2 billion count (Our Take, November 1) rightly mentions that a productive population is in the interest of the nation. But the widespread abortion of female foetuses is skewing the demography. Population experts should now focus on an asymmetric sex ratio, stemming from the traditional preference for sons. A young population, with a disproportionate number of males who are uneducated and unemployable, is not much of a dividend.
HN Ramakrishna, via email

We seem to be happy that an Indian child, a girl at that, has been anointed as the seven billionth child in the world. Does that mean that female foeticide in India is now history? Having failed in our basic responsibilities towards our children, what are we as a nation celebrating?
R Narayanan, via email

We need a new school of thought

With reference to Rukmini Banerji and Michael Walton’s article The RTEs of passage (November 1), policy-makers and politicians should take a hard look at reality and adopt new strategies for the better education of children in India. Children are the future of the nation. Without a proper education system in place, the country cannot rise to new heights of economic and social prosperity.
Manisha Chawla, Dehradun

Wool-over-the-eyes trick

The report Ministers plan coordinated response to food inflation (November 1) is a mere eyewash. The UPA is incapable of running the show, and these empty remarks are just meant to fool people. The common man is fed up with the UPA’s mismanagement.
Mangesh Bantwal, via email