Letters

Protecting tribals

For the first time in two centuries, the administration of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has taken a step that will go a long way to protect tribals, especially the Jarowas, one of the last hunter-gatherers in the world.

The administration has stopped issuing live ammunition to the bush police, the forest protection force and to other officials. We believe this will bring about a qualitative change in their behaviour, which often manifests itself in unwarranted skirmishes and confrontations, especially with the Jarowas. This has resulted in the death of a number of tribals -- a few of which have been reported, but most have gone unreported. The taking away of live ammunition is not unlike depriving the serpent of its fangs.

Illegal logging and poaching in the islands have always enjoyed the protection of the bush police and the forest protection force. By depriving them of the means to guarantee continued protection, illegal logging, poaching and encroachment in the Jarowa reserve will either come to a stop or be reduced substantially.

The local administration has also drastically reduced the number of licensed firearms in the islands and especially in the vicinity of the tribal reserves. Possession of live ammunition also is to be restricted to no more than 10 cartridges at any one time and no more than 50 in a year. This restriction is expected to put an end to raids in the Jarowa areas to collect artefacts for sale to foreign tourists.

These decisions were taken by chief secretary Sanat Kaul, despite considerable opposition from the departments concerned. Now, they face the risk of being countermanded or subverted by vested interests -- greedy loggers, poachers and politicians. Hence, it is imperative that nongovernmental organisations, concerned individuals and the media support these decisions and ensure they are enforced rigorously....

Good work

The article by Anjani Khanna on the monsoons (Down To Earth, August 15, 1993) is well-written, well-researched and beautifully illustrated. Congratulations for a wonderful article. Keep it up.

I also enjoyed the crisp, informative and balanced report by P S Sandhu in the same issue of the magazine on the work of my colleague Dr J Gowrishankar and his team on the Escherichia coli bacteria. Their finding that these bacteria adapt to water-scarce conditions provides clues to how crops can survive droughts....

Balanced perspective

It was a pleasure to read Bibek Debroy's article on Vedic mathematics (Down To Earth, May 31, 1993). The article provides a balanced perspective and is a relief from the shrill rhetoric used to denounce Vedic mathematics in the English media last year. Certain techniques presented in Bharathi Krishna Tirtha's book can be useful in the design of specialised computer circuits. One such design appeared in the respected British journal, Electronics Letters, several years ago....

Unfair assessment

The tone of the review of the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP's) 1993 human development report (Down To Earth, July 31, 1993) does not befit your fine and influential magazine. The reviewer's preconceived notions must have compelled him to state that the report's "basic premise" seems to be "Uncle Sam telling the developing world he knows what is best for us, for if you don't toe the line, your aid could get cut off. That's democracy and that's participation -- American style." The reviewer then concludes by alleging the UNDP report is "reinforcing the hegemony of industrialised nations, in which participation has to be defanged".

Though the reviewer may have found the book to be divergent from his own philosophy, he should at least review it seriously and objectively -- given the intent and purpose of the book. The authors are certainly serious about the concept of "participation" and if Down To Earth wishes to exercise any influence on such multilateral agencies, it has to respect sincere efforts, even when there is a divergence of opinion.

It is most unfair of the reviewer to have clubbed the intent of the book with his notions of "democracy -- American style"....

Helping children grow

Your magazine comes in our school and I do not miss any issue. Once I missed an issue and felt very bad. There is no magazine like yours. Your magazine helps children to grow up.

If you increase the number of pages, the magazine will become more popular. You should also take out a bumper issue at the end each year. I wish your magazine prospers day by day and reaches every person on the Earth....

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