Item One"Negotiations for the past 50 years have come to naught. India needs to approach the Kashmir issue carefully today." Sidharth Mehta, on e-mail from Melbourne, AustraliaNo Time for RhetoricSuccessive governments of India have vouched for our defence preparedness. However, while militants continue to butcher innocents in the Valley, the Government remains mute ("Breakdown, August 10). All it does is blame Pakistan. Also, its policy on Kashmir is difficult to comprehend. It shows a lack of confidence when it resists Kashmir being discussed at any forum. Decisive action, not empty rhetoric is the need of the hour.Vipul Maheshwari, on e mail from MumbaiConsidering Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's continuing brinkmanship on one matter or the other in Pakistan and elsewhere, I think one ought to do a psychological study of the man. Is he a megalomaniac who perceives himself as a modern-day Ghori? He was the prime minister when the ISI-sponsored Bombay blasts took place. Now, we see him adopt the policy of massacre of civilians in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.Subhash Kak, on e mail from Baton Rouge, USAUnwarranted CriticismAs a journalist, Tavleen Singh is free to air her views on the political personalities of our country but at the same time she shouldn't be biased ("Grow up Sonia", August 10). She vehemently criticises the Congress but doesn't hesitate to hand over the laurels to the BJP. Here, she reminds readers that Sonia Gandhi is Italian born. She ought to know the Indian Constitution doesn't discriminate between natural and acquired citizenship. There are other things to augment her views. Harping on this aspect only makes her argument less impressive.Dharmesh Kumar, JaipurSullied ImageBy placing some members of its media cell in top notch positions, a morality brigade like the BJP has sullied its image of being a party with a difference ("Boys for the Jobs", August 10). It has just proved the fact that it is easier to fight for principles than live up to them by resorting to the gimmick of spreading clout through media manipulation and influence peddling.Aalok Vidyarthi, DelhiHullabaloo over TriviaIt is said that the then government of India did not want to reveal the full text of Nathuram Godse's patriotic courtroom speech for fear of nationwide unrest ("Godse on Trial Again", August 3). Another fact deliberately suppressed in 1948 was the active participation of Congress activists in the riots that followed Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. That same year in Maharashtra, the Brahmin community's houses were torched, women raped and men hacked to death or burnt alive. The hullabaloo staged by the Congress leaders today to ban the play seems totally hypocritical.Ajay Swadi, PuneMisleading CaptionThe caption accompanying one of the pictures in the Newsnotes section was misleading ("Heaven's the Limit", August 3). Although the write-up was on the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir, the photograph is of the Gyan Vapi Masjid which stands alongside.Syed Shahabuddin, Delhi Living LegendThe story on the spirited sprinter P.T. Usha was excellent ("Mother Courage", August 3). She is truly one of the greatest sports personalities of India. I am surprised your editorial did not mention Geet Sethi and Vishwanathan Anand among the heroes off the field. Still, by covering her achievements over the years, your magazine has reminded us the country has indeed produced luminaries like Usha, not just corrupt politicians.Bipin Dalal, on e-mailOut of FocusFrom being a concerned publication, over the years INDIA TODAY's focus has shifted to a market-savvy one. With articles on male strippers, impotence and the like, the change is discernible. It's even reached the Viewpoint section which read, for three consecutive issues, like a platform for mudslinging. Tavleen Singh started not a debate, but a diatribe against Medha Patkar on the dam issue. And in her answer to Patkar's views, she came up with a silly argument ("With Friends Like These", August 3). Her suggestion that people who dissent should be locked up is ridiculous. One would expect your magazine to do better than to print Singh's views, week after week.Amitabh Bagchi, on e-mail from Baltimore, USA"No political party is interested in details of the Mahatma's assassination, they only want to gain political mileage from the issue."V.K Tangri,AmritsarMisplaced SecurityPoliticians are ultimately to blame for the rise in crime in the capital as practically the entire police force is engaged in providing them with security ("Crime Time", August 3). If they cease being so paranoid - only an outcome of their realisation of being corrupt - the police can be diverted to other areas that need urgent attention. Crime will only continue on its upward spiral so long as there is an insufficient number of policemen to check crimes committed against the ordinary citizen. At present, the police force is simply being wasted on a bunch of unscrupulous politicians.R.N. Vaswani, Mumbai Unsporting MaterialismIs the sports arena going to be a poorer place without the intricacies, artistry, power play and healthy competition ("Ugly Side of a Beautiful Game", July 27)? Michael Jordan and Ronaldo stand as glaring examples of how big money and sponsors in sports can tarnish the spirit of nationalism or cripple a gifted striker. The sight of the Brazilian team putting up such a poor fight against the French was truly pathetic. Sports and a materialistic attitude simply do not go together,Shubha Swami,Jabalpur, MPGood MoveTavleen Singh's views on the women's Reservation Bill ought to be fully endorsed ("Tokenism Yet Again", July 27). The Yadav duo are to be complimented for stalling the Bill not on the merit of their argument for caste based reservations, but for inadvertently succeeding in deferring a bad Bill. They should instead promote the merit-based selection of women candidates from amongst their cadres for electoral contests.M.K. Goel,on e mail from HardwarArbitrary RepressionThrowing the concept of freedom to the winds, the Government banned the playMee Nathuram Godse Boltoyfor political reasons ("Hype and Hysteria", July 27). The "secular" intellectuals who cried hoarse over the ransacking of M.F. Husain's house by Bajrang Dal activists have chosen to keep mum this time. Is this also not an attack on the freedom of expression? By smothering Godse's voice the Government has obviously conceded it is so powerful even today that it can neutralise all the efforts made in the past 50 years to deify Mahatma Gandhi.S.C. Palnitkar,Latur, MaharashtraWrong FlightThe caplook section erroneously reported that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah flew to Mumbai after the July 5 meeting at Delhi with Central ministers ("Jet, Set, Go", July 20). He actually flew straight to Srinagar and since the J&K resident commissioner was with him all along, the question of his waiting at the Delhi airport for Farooq doesn't arise at all.K.B Jandial, director, Department of Information, J&K Government"The assumption that fair skin is far more attractive than dark skin smacks of racist undercurrents. After all, beauty is merely skin deep."Alfred P.M.,on e mail from Ohio, USA Malicious ReportThe report on Deependra Mohan Mithal ("Doctor Death", July 13) was extremely untruthful and tried to portray my son as a criminal who murdered his wives one by one before marrying the last one. He was a skilful and courageous surgeon and the article viciously maligned him. Let a magazine of your standing determine the truth. As his father, I was deeply pained - as it would any father whose son has committed suicide. This letter is to dispel the "criminal" image of a man whose integrity was unquestionable, in life and in death.B.N. Mithal, PilaniFuturistic DictumIndia's inability to foresee enemy attacks or even counter a hostile neighbour's accusations, is surprising ("Bizarre Revelations", July 13). We waited for 24 years after our first nuclear test and gave our enemies a chance to become stronger. Today, we should not succumb to pressure tactics of any sort. Signing the CTBT and declaring a self-moratorium can prove suicidal to India unless big brother America agrees to unconditional nuclear disarmament by destroying the thousands of nuclear warheads aimed at targets across the world. The old Roman proverb, "If you want peace, prepare for war", should be India's dictum for the future.J. Vijaykumar, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Published By: AtMigration Published On: Aug 24, 1998--- ENDS ---
