Medical expenses

Sir ? The contention that animal virus can jump over and cause complications in human beings is not new (?Monkey virus breaches human barrier?, July 18). Conscientious scientists have warned time and again against using animal serum in vaccinations and medicines. In fact the HIV, a close cousin of the simian SIV, appears to have jumped over to humans via vaccines. In fact, the statement, ?The human genome has viral genome residues that have accumulated over time?, itself raises questions. The problem with modern medical procedures is that they are implemented without long-term studies. Reports of ill-effects by patients, medical ethicists, and even mainstream doctors are intentionally buried. Nobody wants to upset the applecart, even if that means hurting the interests of the patients whose suffering modern medicine seeks to ameliorate.

Yours faithfully,
Jagannath Chatterjee

Unsettling

Sir ? The apex court?s verdict on the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 is a slap on the face of those who sell themselves as minority-lovers and yet have nothing to show by way of work for the uplift of these people (?Assam migrant law struck down?, July 13). This verdict is also important because it re-endows the people of Assam with their constitutional status as ?citizens?, which the act had snatched away. The court order empowers each and every Assamese to monitor the activities of the government, especially the steps taken to detect and deport illegal migrants.

The apex court, while scrapping the IM(DT) Act, rightly noted that the Centre is partly responsible for all the troubles in Assam. But what can be done to set things right? The IM(DT) has done incalculable harm to the region. Assam should be compensated for its negative growth. The Centre should pitch in in the development of infrastructure, creation of specific economic zones, liberalization of industrial policy and creation of industries based on the abundant natural and mineral resources of the state. In short, the Centre has to take some responsibility for Assam.

Yours faithfully,
Bhaskar Barua, Rukminigaon

Sir ? Instead of helping the state deport illegal migrants, the IM(DT) just complicated the process. We must realize that if democracy has to survive in India, then no communal legislation should be allowed at any place. If illegal migrants have to be deported, then those of only one community should not be targeted. We also have to engage with Bangladesh, so that those arriving in India get visa and work permits, and are given a legal status.

Yours faithfully,
Pranav Sachdeva, New Delhi

Sir ? Even if a law is enacted in place of the IM(DT) Act, the onus of proving that a person is not an immigrant should lie with the accused and not with the complainant. It is very difficult for a complainant to prove that the accused is an immigrant because in India, a migrant can easily procure a ration card or enrol his name on the voters? list. Stringent laws should also be applied in the border districts of West Bengal where there has been an unusual increase in population in the past few decades.

Yours faithfully,
Kaushik Guha, Calcutta

Sir ? The IM(DT) Act exemplifies how vote-bank politics can corrupt governments. There can be no doubt that illegal Bangladeshi migrants are a big nuisance, particularly in West Bengal and Assam. There needs to be some legal stricture on politicians appeasing the minorities.

Yours faithfully,
Madhu Agrawal, Dariba

Sir ? The IM(DT) enforced in Assam in 1983 has been systematically used by Congress governments in the state to its own advantage. Hence the Congress remorse after it was struck down by the Supreme Court. The reaction in West Bengal following the Supreme Court verdict is natural as, like the Congress governments in Assam, the Left Front in West Bengal has always sided with the migrants.

Yours faithfully,
Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur

Sir ? Under the guise of the IM(DT) Act, the Congress governments of Assam have nurtured illegal migrants in the state and offered them warmth and comfort. That their sins have come home to roost can be evident from the way the migrants, almost invariably indulging in subversive activities, now pass diktats on the ruling government. What is alarming is that the Congress is yet to realize how dangerous such legislations are. It now wants another law to replace the draconian IM(DT). The people of the country should be warned against such self-serving political parties.

Yours faithfully,
Salil Gewali, Shillong

Sir ? The IM(DT) may have been scrapped, but how will Assam now deport the illegal immigrants who form a strong vote bank for different political parties? The past record of deportation is abysmal, and the less said about the political will behind it, the better. Given the changes the migrant population have brought to the North-east, it will not be long before al Qaida starts holding any violence that happens in the area as evidence of the persecution of believers.

Yours faithfully,
Udita Agrawal, New Delhi

Sir ? The saffron parties, the All Assam Students? Union and the Asom Gana Parishad are busy celebrating the striking down of the IM(DT). But have they too not used the act to woo Hindu voters? The opposition in Assam may now take credit for it, but the court verdict should be read as a personal victory for the AGP legislator, Sarbananda Sonowal, who filed a petition against the act years ago. For the Congress, the verdict is like a death blow. The party now risks losing the support of the United Minorities Front and its massive vote bank. Whatever the repercussions, we should not aspire for the Foreigners? Act to come into use in Assam. There should be efforts to discourage the BJP from communalizing the illegal migrants issue. Let us not forget that illegal migrants have no religion. They are simply illegal inhabitants. As for the AGP and AASU, they should remember that the real battle has only just begun.

Yours faithfully,
Angarag Bhuyan, Morigaon