A Matter of Pride"Amartya Sen has done us proud. His treatise, if implemented, could help bridge the gap between the different economic sections in India."Indranil Som,DelhiIgnominy Before AcclaimIt is a matter of pride for the nation that Amartya Sen has won this year's Nobel prize for his outstanding work in the field of economics ("Poverty's Prophet", October 26). But it is a shame that geniuses like Sen are forced to leave India and reside in a foreign country before their worth is realised. That it takes the international forum to laud one of our great thinkers is sad. India doesn't lack in geniuses or talent. We just fail to recognise it most of the time.E.W.B. Dias,on e-mailKudos to Amartya Sen for his achievements. He may have been ignored for many years but now that he has won international acclaim our leaders will start vying with each other to hand him accolades. The tragedy is we needed this Nobel prize to suddenly discover that Sen's work over these years is actually worth something. However, if Sen opposes the free market and economic liberalisation policy, jealous critics will take the first opportunity to distort his statement that liberalisation and social justice should move forward hand in hand. Still, one Professor Sen is worth the thousands of mindless leaders that India has no dearth of.Manohar Dansingani,PuneSheer LazinessPicasso once said, "I would love to live like a poor man with lots of money." Our business maharajahs seem to entertain a diametrically opposite view ("What Recession!", October 26). Frugality, when it is adopted in a situation where there is no other alternative, reflects inherent reluctance rather than a planned strategy to keep costs down.Ratan Jalan,BangaloreWhose Nation?This is regarding your editorial ("Home and the World", October 26). I am an NRI living away from India for about three years now. I too feel that if NRIs are handled properly India could acquire a substantial portion of their investment instead of foreign companies getting it. Most NRIs, however, are reluctant to do so because of the harassment and humiliation they face while visiting their home country. Indians going abroad for a couple of years often change their minds and opt for permanent residency in the foreign country. This speaks poorly of our own country.Senthil Palaniappan,on e-mailFilm stars have no licence to killThe poaching incident involving film stars, ("Bucking the Law", October 26) hasn't received the criticism it deserved because politicians put pressure on the authorities. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah even put in a word to Rajasthan Chief Minister B.S.Shekhawat to release Salman Khan because it would affect the actor's career. Why shield culprits?M. Farooq Shah,chairman, Ecosense, DelhiThe hunting of chinkaras and blackbucks by film stars is deplorable. If it weren't for the Bishnoi community, this incident would never have come to light. These law breakers should be severely punished so that others do not imitate these "reel" life Rambos.Siva,HyderabadFilm stars salman khan and Saif Ali Khan disregarded the rules pertaining to the preservation of Indian wildlife. The reaction of the Hindi film industry is reflective of its apathy. It'll be difficult to appreciate these people on screen anymore.Vibha Joshi,Oxford, UKInhuman IndifferenceThe article about three dolphins dying in a Chennai amusement park was extremely painful to read ("And Then There Were None", October 26). Even though the park was not directly responsible for the deaths, which is believed to have been caused by the city's infamous heat and the dolphins' inability to acclimatise to new surroundings, it is still shocking that the Tamil Nadu Government has allowed the park to import five more dolphins. Permission should have been withheld till the park modified the existing conditions so that the dolphins could have a better home.S.B. Vathsalan,DelhiTear JerkerTwo months ago, when a number of organisations alerted the Government and demanded the export of onions be stopped, no heed was paid to the warning signals ("Not Knowing their Onions", October 19). Tonnes of onions were still exported through NAFED. The Centre's decision to import onions after prices have soared has come a little late in the day. Even now the consumer has to stand in a mile-long queue and gets to purchase a small amount.V.S. Rawat,DehradunEnnobling VisionIt is extraordinary that Deodhar Karmali overcame his physical defect by opening a school for the disabled ( "A Lesson in Ability", October 19). This is reminiscent of Helen Keller who was blind and deaf since birth but went on to become a prolific writer. Kudos to former MP Mahavir Vishwakarma who donated the land for the school building. That 112 disabled children are studying in the school is a tribute to Karmali's vision.Somnath Dhar,DelhiSettling ScoresIqbal masud should not have reviewed Amaresh Misra's bookLucknow: Fire of Grace("Ode to Oudh", October 19). He seems to have a score to settle with composite culture which is Misra's main thrust. Just to put the record straight, Misra combines passion with brilliant reporting and polemics. He attacks Nehruvian secularism in equal measure and studies not a dying culture but a wounded Indianness waiting to strike back.Sohail Akbar,DelhiJustified CritiqueTavleen singh rightly points out the differences between Chan-drababu Naidu's Andhra Pradesh and Laloo Yadav's Bihar ("Dark Corner of India", October 19). She is justified in criticising the lame excuses put forward by Laloo for the ills plaguing Bihar. It is ironical that despite this people continue to elect such unscrupulous politicians. So long as they continue to do so they deserve the kind of government they get.G. Chandrasekhar,Mumbai"We lack 'doers' because our 'thinkers' are busy trying to make ends meet. The luckiest scientists are those who go abroad for research. Sadly India does little to nurture genius or talent."Rahul Khosla,on e-mailI fail to see why Tavleen Singh draws so much flak for her essays. She is one of the few columnists in India who doesn't care about political correctness. Singh is well-travelled and has seen a number of societies, therefore she should be granted the sense to correctly point out what exactly ails our system. The stand she takes on society and the state of the economy in India is laudable. Instead of all the hate mail, it is time people had something positive to say about her comments.Pratik Bhattacharya,on e-mail from Kent, UKPseudo DemocracyIndians never tire of calling India the largest democracy ("Those Unpaid Bills", October 19). It would be more appropriate to call it the world's greatest kleptocracy because our worthy politicians never tire of lining their own pockets at the expense of the largely poor public. Is there no law to stop these avaricious "leaders" from looting the country?R.C. Dhanda,Virginia, USASystematic DestructionThe recent outbreak of violence against the Christian community in Madhya Pradesh is typical of the modus operandi used by Hindu fundamentalists to create terror among minorities ("All Hell Breaks Loose", October 12). It takes courage to devote one's service to remote areas. How long can Christians protest peacefully? VHP leaders should try and do something constructive not destructive.Hillary Rodrigues, PunePublished By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 9, 1998--- ENDS ---
