Mutual fund misfortunes
The article ‘Should we trust mutual funds with our money?’ (Aug 18) is very relevant. I do not seek to denigrate any mutual fund in particular or the entire industry, but only want them to be careful in their advertising. The industry has certainly misled the public with the advertisements it puts out. Putting a rider on the risks does not justify these ads. As a result, many investorss today feel that they would have been better off had they invested in provident funds or in fixed deposits of banks. In hindsight, they feel they ought to have avoided this sector, since their investments have depreciated in value.

Declaring bonuses frequently is not the answer. This only results in the holdings going up on paper; the net asset value falls in proportion. One fund has specialised in this, much to the detriment of long term investors. Additionally, the salary and perks of those who work for private funds are astronomical and hardly in line with their performance. This state of affairs should not be allowed to carry on and the industry must introspect. Serious performance reviews should be undertaken. I write the above only to emphasise that no mutual fund has ever written in its news letter the reasons for its underperformance or apologised for the same.

Maybe the middle classes should have opted out when the going got tough, but we in India keep hoping for a minimal revival before getting out. Hence we stick it out, much to our misfortune.
—Dinesh K Kapila
on e-mail.

Who’s to blame?
Apropos the article ‘54 years after independence’ (Aug 16), although Mr Kuldip Nayar has analysed India’s progress well, certain facts mentioned in the article are not quite correct. While holding corruption responsible for our undoing, he has put the entire blame on Ms Indira Gandhi. The fact is that the rot started during the days of Jawaharlal Nehru. Even after declaring (in 1945) that he would hang blackmarketeers from the nearest lamp post, Mr Nehru not only forgot about it, but even defended corrupt people in his government. Had he punished them, we would not have come to such a pass. Another mistake was the adoption of socialism. This created the permit-raj which hindered our progress.
—V Sagar
Delhi

The herbal route
While there seems to be a marked inclination for vegetarianism, the concept is slightly complicated in India, what with its religious and ethnic implications. Our apprehension about some ‘French fries’ being not very veggie led to demonstrations and protests of almost an extreme degree.

Globalisation and commercialisation, meanwhile, have resulted in the market being flooded with a variety of FMCG products. In the absence of strict regulations, it is at times not possible to communicate to the consumer about the constituents of a particular product. Even products of daily use like soaps and toothpaste are known to contain animal derivatives, which may or may not be communicated clearly to the consumer. This knowledge, combined with a rediscovery of the wonder of Ayurveda has meanwhile led to herbal products gaining rapid credence. Time-tested formulae and herbs like babool and meswak etc, are being studied with renewed interest. Doubtless,herbal products have enormous potential. The question is how well will it be tapped? Meanwhile, consistent efforts need to be made to keep