MyVoice: Views of our readers 13th September 2020

China's aggressive behaviour countered effectively by India

Though the ties between China and India hit rock bottom due to four-month long tense military stand-offs in the Ladakh sector and fresh flare-up from China to occupy Indian territory by force signalled worsening relations, nevertheless, India strongly foiled Chinese attempts to occupy Indian territory. As the ups and downs in the relationship between the two nations began right after the war with China in 1962 when the then Chinese premier Chou En-Lai betraying the trust of then Prime Minister late Jawaharlal Nehru reposed in him and occupied Indian territory violating the McMahon line recognised by India as Line of Actual Control(LAC).

Since then, the 4,000 km long LAC has been in dispute between India and China. China having a tendency not to respect sovereignty of its neighbours always been making incursions into our territories from Arunachal Pradesh to Ladakh sector from time to time with impunity to grab our territory by hook or crook. In fact, when China's assertiveness with India by making false territorial claims has come into the open and similarly its aggressiveness in the South China Sea by threatening smaller countries to fall in line with its thinking is clearly visible to the entire world, China's absurdity need to be put an end with an iron fist by all nations before it explodes to the detriment and interests of all.

There is no denying the fact that China has gone back on its assurances to maintain status-quo at LAC given at the meetings held at different levels between the nations so far. Far from the promises held out by china, what is witnessed on the contrary is massive deployment of PLAs on the LAC in Eastern Ladakh and parading of troops in south bank of Pangong Tso-Chushul area ahead of expected meeting between the foreign ministers of both India and China?

As tension has escalated after Chinese troops fired in the air to intimidate the Indian soldiers goes to show china's utter disregard for the 1993 and 1996 peace and tranquility agreement, it is shocking that even the Modi--Xi Jinping much acclaimed meet at Mamallapuram in October 2019 to bring lasting peace between the two nations is not been respected by China.

Signalling the thaw in relations getting worse, the foreign ministers of India and China meeting in Moscow agreeing on a five-point course of action to disengage and deescalate tension along the LAC for maintaining peace along the LAC is a positive step. Notwithstanding the outcome of the Moscow meet, India cannot be expected to remain complacent and lay back, instead, with time running fast, India should work on multiple fronts to tackle the unprecedented security challenge posed by china which is hell-bent to change the status-quo at the LAC by forcing a war of attrition on India at any time.

From the reports appearing in the Chinese media, it is obvious that the country from its actions so far seem to have no belief in respecting the sovereignty of its neighbours even at the height of criticism by many countries in the world for its aggressive behaviour.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

Our great 'holiday culture'

I appreciate the sane decision of Government of India as it has not in routine way declared holiday when former president Mr Pranab mukharjee passed away instead the government declared seven days mourning .Ours is a holiday and jolly day culture, this holiday culture is killing Indian productivity. On an average, the government employees enjoy holidays for more than 72 days excluding sick leaves and travel leaves, apart from this, the number will add to the forced holidays imposed by various political parties on one or the other flimsy reason, what a criminal waste of time in the name of holidays?

In my view the government should declare national holidays only for 3- days that is for Independence day, republic day and Gandhi jayanthi ,A separate list of holidays for Hindu,Muslim and Christian festivals be declared and people belonging to a particular religion may be allowed to use the holiday meant for the festival and the other employees belonging to other religion may be allowed to work, thereby the productivity of the nation be enhanced .

I cannot understand what will the Muslim do during the Hindu festival except enjoying holiday in merry making so as with others? Only the birth anniversary of the father of the nation can be declared a national holiday and other leaders' birth and death anniversaries holidays should be cancelled forthwith.

The officials may pay respects to the departed soul by standing in silence for 2-minutes in respective offices, this is the correct way of remembering the services of the departed great leaders .instead of allowing the employees to rejoice the occasion, let them recollect the services extended by leaders to the nation by organizing commemorative meetings. If the religious and vote bank politics are kept aside, an honest nationalist leader like Narendra modi can certainly prune the unwanted holidays and cultivate work culture among employees for the productivity of nation.

Rama Krishna M, Kakinada

Drug abuse should be punished severely

The way Karnataka police is cracking whip on drug mafia is commendable and there are lessons for states like Maharashtra how to root out this evil from our social lives. Irrespective of their clout and reputation Karnataka govt is pursuing relentlessly the cases and now political bigwigs are also being investigated.

Poppy route which has all the links with Pakistan is using Kashmir and Punjab to smuggle drugs into India. Money earned through drug sale is funnelled into terror activities. Maharashtra police and government which is busy in witch hunting must crack heavily on drug peddlers and not the victims.

Their latest move to put in dock whistle blower Kangana for drug use may scuttle the whole focus. The nation is facing serious crisis as drugs are no more problem with the rich and elite but has percolated down to common person. It's high time a national policy is made and drug smuggling be made capital crime.

Victims of drug abuse should be dealt compassionately and rehabilitated rather than put in jails for longer terms. Close the tap, not the mouths.

Ashok Goswami, Mumbai

Politicians and accountability

The highly insightful article of V Ramu Sarma which needs to be commended for its thought provoking words " Voice of dissent is very important in democracy " portrays the true picture of current political discourse in India where ruling parties are not hesitating to go to any extent to stifle the voices of the opposition, Press, dissenters and protesters. (Ruling parties playing vindictive politics - THI, 12 September).

As rightly opined by the author, it is a misadventure and an exercise in futility on the part of ruling parties to attempt to have monopoly over intelligence with a view to prevent people from raising questions about the ineptitude in policymaking and gaping holes in governance.

Politicians in power need to realise that they are accountable to people for their words and actions and should provide satisfactory answers to the questions raised by the opposition in the parliament/legislatures. The disturbing trend of the ruling establishments cancelling zero hour and shortening question hour under the guise of the pandemic is nothing but a deliberate attempt to thwart the well established legislative practices that seek to establish transparency and accountability in governance.

It needs to be remembered by the ruling class that the expenditure to conduct legislative deliberations is paid by common man out of his hard earned money and it will be sheer waste of people's money if the well established legislative norms and practices are tweaked and hoodwinked with an intention to defeat the very purpose for which the legislatures are established. More frustratingly, the speakers of legislatures are increasingly demonstrating their proclivity to serve the interests of ruling party rather than being impartial in conducting the proceedings which has reached menacing proportions where Judiciary, sometimes, is intervening to reverse the decisions of speakers.

The rising number of executive excesses is a great concern for all sane citizens of India where democratic norms, secular credentials and constitutional values are either violated or undermined more brazenly like never before . Several factors are making Indian democracy bleed profusely such as weakened opposition parties, autonomous institutions constitutional wings and Investigating agencies dancing to the tunes of political masters, voting choices being greatly influenced by the emotions linked to religion and caste, politicians being guided by self-interest rather than national interest and political discourse being hijacked by power mongering turncoats.

It is a fact that the lives and livelihoods of people are shattered due to the actions of unscrupulous politicians. The time has come for people to display the attributes of matured citizens so as not to be taken for a ride by selfish politicians who talk everything from religion to region except their abilities and honesty to deliver good governance that ensures enhanced living standards for people and improved infrastructural facilities for the country.

People should pay more attention on crucial matters of national importance such as GDP contraction , economic slump, heightened border tensions and marauding pandemic rather than being carried away by the endless debates on celebrities such as Kangana Ranaut and Rhea Chakraborty. The country can't afford people's laxity in this regard at this critical juncture.

Thumati Anuradha, Hyderabad

Trump for Nobel? A distinct possibility…

One may tend to giggle for sure when one reads the news 'Trump nominated for Nobel Peace prize'. How Trump was portrayed till recent past by the media is all gone now leaving behind the real Trump's worth. Yes, his meritorious efforts in bringing Israel and UAE together is a great achievement no one can deny. Christian Tybring Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the far-right Progress party, said Mr. Trump should be considered because of his work for a peace agreement between the UAE and Israel which opens up for possible peace in West Asia. The process of considering candidates and awarding the prize is done in Norway, in contrast to the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded in neighbouring Sweden.

The peace agreement between Israel and United Arab Emirates or the Abraham Accord really marked a watershed in the history of the world. Abraham Accord came in to force from on August13, 2020 and the UAE is the third Arab country after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 to formally normalise its relationship with Israel. With this agreement, Israel has to suspend plans for annexing parts of the West Bank. As a duck takes to water, Iran condemned the peace accord and said the Israel-UAE deal was a dangerous stab in the back of Palestinians and Muslims.

Iran also termed the deal was a 'shameful act of strategic stupidity' by the Israel and UAE that would only serve to strengthen the 'Axis of Resistance' in the Middle East. Iran also added that the Palestinians and people of the world would never forgive the UAE while also warning it against Israel interfering in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued warning to the UAE that it will face dangerous repercussions for the deal. This warning portends a possible bloodbath in the UAE. Turkey, another bigoted country like Iran has condemned the peace deal. Pakistan also expressed its strong objection to the deal.

US President Donal Trump however, managed to pull off a rare victory for the US diplomacy in the Middle East ahead of his November 3 re-election bid by helping to broker a deal between Americans allies Israel and the UAE.

T K Nandanan, Kochi