TeAcH More tHAn PunIsH

Sir, Apropos of M.D. Nalapat’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, don’t forget JP (21 August), it is fallacious on the part of Bihar’s Chief Minister to assume that his prohibition policy would pave his way for the Prime Minister’s position. The country faces many problems such as corruption, terrorism, Naxalites, poor healthcare, lack of education and unemployment. His government scores poorly on resolving these issues, while his fanatic drive against alcoholism is low on people’s priority. The CM should remember Benjamin Franklin’s wise words: “Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; too severe are seldom executed.” Jaya Prakash Narayan, his mentor, was against inhuman laws and his fight against Emergency symbolised this. Instead of use of excessive coercion, the government should employ mass awareness programmes and social pressures to check the malaise.