• Global warming is devastating health and the environment. There is a growing cry for energy conservation and combating the effects of climate change globally. But, very little is being done. To get people working on devising practical solutions to this problem, the WWF has initiated a climate change programme to fight global warming. An exciting campaign called Earth Hour was launched in Sydney in 2007, with the involvement of more than a dozen cities committed to fighting the greatest threat to earth. However, only a few Indian cities are a part of it. On March 29, 2008, at 8 pm (IST), millions of people the world over switched off their lights. This was meant to be a symbolic gesture towards reducing energy consumption levels. Every individual can make a positive impact on climate change. And every Indian city should learn to do its bit.

No politics, please

• China is being increasingly embarrassed by Tibetan protests across the globe. These protests have led to calls for an unequivocal boycott of the Beijing Olympics. While one cannot contest the argument about Tibetan rights, boycotting the Olympics is not the right way to address the issue. The Olympics being purely sports should not be viewed through the prism of politics.

If the West can persist with trade and investments worth billions of dollars why should it prevent athletes (who have been training hard for the event for years) from participating in the greatest sporting event on earth? If China’s human rights record and Tibetans’ rights are an issue worth disrupting the Olympics over, then they also merit cutting off economic and political ties with China. Why should an athlete pay the price of a political decision?

— Karan Thakur

New Delhi

Fair hike

• It is heartening to note that the IIM fee hike has been accepted by the human resource development minister. Scholarships are being provided to poor students with much higher household income as well. This is certainly the right way to proceed. Now, the HRD minister should also think of establishing more IIMs to meet the demand for quality business schools. Moreover, similar arrangements must be made for primary and secondary education.

— M. Shrinivasa Kamath

Bangalore

For their own

• After the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations — by and large a report of the IAS, by the IAS and for the IAS — would it not be a good idea to form an association of all the non-IAS Gr-A services to protect our interests?

— Anil Vadodra

The wrong age

•In Seema Chishti’s article ‘Empowered by another name’., I noticed the following sentence: “(Kanshi Ram) took her under his wings and the exercise resulted in Mayawati first taking oath as India’s youngest-ever chief minister (at the age of 39) in 1995”. This is not factually true. At least one younger chief minister was sworn in at the age of 37 in 1977 itself: A.K. Antony.

— Gopa Periyadan

On e-mail

The error is regretted.

— Editor