Align along different lines

Sir — While one may fully agree with the editorial, “Foreign fields” (May 26), one may add another point. India must divorce itself from ineffectual entities like the non-aligned movement and take the initiative to create a multipolar world. New Delhi should root for the eminently sensible advice of Yevgenii Primakov — establish a Russia-China-India triad, and include Myanmar in it. This can become the locus of a second global power centre after the United States of America. India should seek entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and ask for an observer nation status with the African Union. It is time for us to realize that there is life beyond Pakistan and Kashmir. Despite possessing the potential to become a superpower, India seems to be afflicted with a frog-in-the-well outlook in international relations. The moot point however is, will our new foreign minister, K. Natwar Singh, who has been nurtured in the anachronistic Nehruvian surrealism that is Congress foreign policy, muster enough courage to break out of his shell?

Yours faithfully,
J.K. Dutt, Calcutta

Look left before you leap

Sir — The report, “Leaders and labour pull in two ways” (May 25), shows that left unions are living up to their reputation of being perpetual spoilsports. Trade unions who do not support the common minimum programme of the new Congress-led government are supposed to further badger the prime minister with their own set of demands. Yet some of these demands hardly make sense — constituting the sixth pay commission, removing the ceiling on bonus and scrapping the voluntary retirement scheme, to name a few. It is amazing that members of trade unions should hope to harbour hopes of getting bloated salaries and perquisites without contributing productively.

The trade union demands, if met, will compound the fiscal woes of the government. Manmohan Singh should not only refuse to entertain such unfair demands, but he should also make sure that the completely irresponsible demand of undoing the Supreme Court ban on strikes is never met.

Yours faithfully,
Saptarshi Mukherjee, Calcutta

Sir — The left parties took nearly a week to decide whether to join the government, and over three days to decide if their candidate should accept the post of the Lok Sabha speaker. Their joint procrastination demonstrates why left-dominated states like Kerala and West Bengal are way behind others in reforms. While every Indian is willing to trust Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram to take India forward, he finds it impossible to believe the left parties will allow them to do much constructive work in the next few years.

Yours faithfully,
R.B. Easwaran, Chennai

Sir — The ignominious debacle of the National Democratic Alliance and the N. Chandrababu Naidu government in the recent elections may have been the direct result of their economic policies. However, any attempt by the new governments, both at the Centre and in the states, to clamp down on the reform process could spell doom for the country’s economy. The continuity of the reforms process becomes a matter of concern because the incumbent government now has to rely on the left, which has been traditionally opposed to most major liberalization steps taken by the previous government and the one before.

Yours faithfully,
Siddhartha Raj Guha, Jabalpur

Sir — The left is now part of the Central government and definitely has a say in decision-making. So “Buddha spreads wisdom of reforms” (May 30) is a natural corollary. However, when it insists on reforms with a “human face”, the left should try not to interpret the phrase too literally. Growth has to be the government’s first go al, the human face should play a secondary role. Unless that is done, the “face” factor is bound to force the incumbent government at the Centre into unnecessary compromises each time a decision has to be taken.

The West Bengal chief minister has also made a lot of noise about the state’s ability to attract foreign direct investment. But how can FDI help when domestic resources are not utilized to their maximum potential. The greatest economic setback for West Bengal has been the closure of around 59 jute mills in the state. What has Bhattacharjee done about that?

The feel-good among the left is understandable. But the leftists also have to be pragmatic. Which means if industries are dying, they have to be shut down. This is the first time the left has a friendly government at the Centre. Instead of carping about the reforms, the left should use its position to bring positive changes in the states they control.

Yours faithfully,
Sumant Poddar, Calcutta

Sir — It is shameful to see the chief minister of a state that is languishing like West Bengal give expert advice to the father of economic reforms in India. Bhattacharjee should first set his own house in order before he gives sermons. Besides, where is the much talked about “human face” in his own Bengal?

Yours faithfully,
J. Sikdar, Calcutta

Misplaced trust

Sir — I have savings accounts in both public sector and private sector banks. A cheque of Rs 9,000 drawn on a bank in Kalyani, Nadia, took 15 days and a deduction of Rs 65 to be encashed in Calcutta. A cheque of Rs 7,000 on a Mumbai bank took just two days to be encashed here in the city, and without any deductions. Can we not expect better treatment from the public sector, specially now that there is no chance of further privatization of banks?

Yours faithfully,
Tamal Sen, Calcutta

Sir — Most of the privatized banks are geared for catering to big customers. Several of these banks follow American banking procedures. They issue quarterly statements instead of old-fashioned pass books, encourage phone-banking and are totally computerized. Yet quarterly statements do not arrive on time. The customer service desks plead their inability to help, citing the centralized-service bogey. Will the finance ministry care to see that the more ordinary customers are not neglected by banks?

Yours faithfully,
Arunava Choudhury, Calcutta

Sir — “Bank of India logs higher profit in fourth quarter” (May 22) shows the spectacular turnaround staged by the bank which has recorded a net profit of Rs 1,008.32 crores. It clearly shows that BoI has taken effective steps to turn the challenges arising from liberalization and integration of financial markets into opportunities for growth. Surveys by various organizations also show that BoI’s service is perceived to be better than other public-sector banks and even some foreign banks. BoI’s upgradation of technology at its branches has not only improved the over-the-counter services but also improved the quality of information. While there are always exceptions, public sector banks usually provide poor quality service to customers. The bank has also shown that public relations and marketing functions are part of the banking services, and that it is essential to understand the customer who is at the root of a bank’s success.

Yours faithfully,
Vinod C. Dixit, Ahmedabad