COLD REMINDER
   Date :24-Sep-2019

 
EVEN as a riled Pakistan continues to boil over growing international support to India’s decision of abrogating Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir, the Indian leadership has upped the ante by warning Islamabad against raising a war rhetoric. Pakistan PM Mr. Imran Khan’s indulgence in doling out threats of a full-fledged military conflagration has been met with a straight talk by India which is quite clear in its strategy in case Pak Army plans any military misadventure. Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh’s warning to Pakistan to refrain from repeating the mistakes of 1965 and 1971 is a chilling reminder of the humiliation Paki forces faced in the past. Aggressive defence is a new template in the Centre’s policy for Pakistan. New Delhi has already raised the threshold by eyeing physical presence in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. The Modi Government’s ability to meet words with action is not lost on the military bosses in Rawalpindi especially in the wake of the Balakot strikes. Consequences of a war will be too costly for Pakistan.
 
STUDYING IMPACT
 
THE decision of Delhi’s Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to study the impact of the Delhi Government’s announcement of introducing odd-even days for plying vehicles on the roads of the city is most welcome. The study, thus undertaken, could be useful for the rest of the country and if the step is found useful can be replicated all over the nation. Because air pollution has become a matter of great concern. With vehicular pollution worsening every passing day such studies by premier technology institutions is of immense value for policy making. Since such premier institutes are functioning all over the country they can undertake similar studies of various problems being faced in the areas of their operations. IIT Delhi’s study should in fact be converted into a national project so that the entire country benefits from it. No doubt Delhi faces the worst air pollution problem, especially during the winters when worsening air quality goes beyond human tolerance. Hence the study should be of immense importance for the national capital as also the nation.