— R.P. Subramanian

Delhi

Service democracy

• Shiv Visvanathan voices the anguish of an intellectual when he shows how over-bureaucratisation and bureaucratic elitism serve little or no purpose. The organisation of knowledge and resources cannot be restricted to a single cadre or service. Posting restrictions, based on the service one belongs to, is a fading idea — supported by the Sixth Pay Commission’s suggestions. Although expertise and areas of functioning can differ over services, there can be no presumption about their inherent capabilities. There is no justification for presuming that only a particular cadre or service can do a particular task.

— Aditya Gore

Mumbai

Olympian paranoia

• The paranoia of the Chinese was proved when they called Indian envoy Nirupama Rao to their foreign affairs ministry at 2 am to register their protest against the lax security at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi that resulted in Tibetan protesters forcing their way onto the premises. The Tibet issue is now threatening to disrupt the Beijing Olympics. The more the Chinese throw their tantrums, the more prone will they be to taunts from every quarter of the world.

— Bibhash Mohanty

New Delhi