You stated that some of the IIT faculty are leading minds in their respective fields and that there is a significant opportunity cost for them to continue as faculty (“Roses, IIT teachers and strikes,” Mint, 23 September). The question is: if the faculty concerned are the most talented, why should they hang on to faculty positions? What prevents them from taking up industry positions? If, as you say, they can make multiples of their salaries in the private sector, they can go ahead and join business. The fact that they hang on to academic positions proves their inability to take up the hard challenges of an industry job. Mere oratory and research skills (that some of the faculty exhibit as proof of their talent) cannot be a substitute for a hard job in industry.
— K.V. Rao
Your article suggests Air India (AI) will be back on the rails if employees are disciplined (“Getting AI back on the rails,” Mint, 30 September). Though there is a case for pruning staff strength and emoluments, the malady lies deeper. There has been no accountability and the government has not kept a check on the operations.
Profitable areas and routes had been given away smacking of inefficiency or corruption. The airline has been running in an unprofessional manner. Unless the whole gamut is reworked and the ministry of civil aviation keeps a sharp eye, AI will never get back to normalcy.
— S. Padmanabhan
Switching sides is not uncommon in politics (“The decline of political parties,” Mint, 29 September). This started in the year 1967 when Indira Gandhi floated her own party by bidding goodbye to the old Congress party, and the legacy seems to continue.
This contagious disease spread to other parties over time and had reached dizzy heights in the recent elections. Even hard-core loyalists are parting ways and forming unholy alliances just to perpetuate their family rule at the expense of India. Unfortunately, the electorate has not shown an aversion to these practices.
Political parties in India lost their brand values long back, and only family names are ruling the roost. This is a common phenomenon throughout the country, and in the future, this trend will be perpetuated.
These developments will certainly cast a shadow on Indian democracy due to the myopic views taken by our leaders to maintain their family identity at any cost.
When it comes to a comparison of personalized politics in India with that of US, I do not fully subscribe to the views of the article: In India our leaders are more aggressive in satisfying their family needs and preventing prospective candidates from contesting elections—considering family rule a right. In the process, a lot of damage is caused to state and national priorities.
— K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam
The Air India pilots went on a strike after a reduction of their existing levels of income. In a country such as ours, where revolutions do not take place and only gradual increments are accepted, how can the managing director of National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (Nacil) approve reductions in income to the extent of 50-70%?
Daily losses due to the strike incurred by Nacil should be recouped from the erring pilots, as they are the cause for losses, which are more than just financial ones.
And those pilots that acted against the laws of the land should be sacked and legal proceedings be instituted against them. If the existing laws do not allow to recoup the losses caused by the pilots, new laws should be brought on to the books.
The final point: does the minister for civil aviation have the necessary political will to act?
— Satyanarayana Gavarasana