Anita Pratap in her column, The Best Guerrilla of All (June 5) made eloquent praises of ltte leader V. Prabhakaran. She went to the extent of saying that the ltte forced the world's fourth-largest army to retreat from the island and is now giving the Sri Lankan army a run for its money. Let me put the record straight. The ipkf did not retreat from the island. It was sent to the island at the invitation of the Sri Lankan government in pursuance of Indo-Sri Lankan peace accord, and it was withdrawn at the behest of Sri Lankan President Premadasa in collusion with the ltte.
While impressions are meant to be personal, one must remember that thousands of innocent Tamil children are conscripted to join the ltte and are killed for the personal ambition of Prabhakaran, than Eelam. It must also be remembered that Prabhakaran is not the sole representative of Sri Lankan Tamils, nor do all Sri Lankan Tamils endorse the views of Prabhakaran or of the ltte.
T. Padmavathy, Secunderabad
A headline in a story fulfils the function of catching and holding the reader's attention long enough for him or her to want to go through what follows. But what did The Reich Rebuffed signify? Goths in furry skins, descending on a poor, Third World country to exploit it and then retreating in a flurry of primitive, unintelligible grunts, brandishing clubs and bearing, what else but, swastikas?
To anyone irritated by out-of-context absurdities on India in foreign media headlines, it would seem astonishingly insensitive, embarrassing and 'smart-alecky' to refer to democratic post-World War II German governments-yes, even the oppositional Christian Democrats Union (cdu) which ruled Germany for 16 years-as the "Reich".
You say cdu politician Juergen Ruettgers "garnered sympathy" with his Kinder statt Inder slogan but fails to mention, even in passing, that Ruettgers was defeated soundly by Germany's ruling Social Democrats in regional elections in Nordrhein-Westfalia, just days before foreign minister Joschka Fischer arrived in India to "bodyshop". And by the way, neither the "bodyshoppers" nor Carsten Hoelscher, the embassy official in New Delhi, represent Bonn. The capital of Germany shifted to Berlin quite a while ago. But, this, like the giant strides made by Germany in various other fields over the last 50 years, obviously escaped your notice. Could Outlook spare us the Commando comic vocabulary that went out with the Goths. Or, at least, with Goebbels.
Padma Rao-Sundarji, Der Spiegel, New Delhi
Apropos The Muse in the Machine (June 5), creative writers must have felt the same discomfort when technology overtook Shakespearean feathers. But, as you said, tools are optional. As for Ulysses, I too rejected it as a student till exams forced me to submerge myself in Joyce's stream of consciousness.
J.M. Manchanda, New Delhi
Apropos Anita Pratap's The Best Guerrilla of All (June 5), the ltte has the tiger as its symbol as it symbolised the Tamil kingdomÑan independent countryÑfor much of its existence. The Sinhala people were very insistent that the symbol of the Sinhala kingdomÑthe lionÑbe put on the supposedly 'national' flag. For Tamils to see this is a symbol of Sinhala subjugation of them and their distinct culture.
Karen Parker, on e-mail
Anita Pratap's column was well written but very one-sided. It said that Prabhakaran is trying to get local support in the name of Tamil Eelam, but didn't mention that he's responsible for killing thousands of people in Sri Lanka and in India ruthlessly to get his way. He gets the money for arms and explosives via large-scale extortion, gun- and drug-running. He's nothing but an opportunistic criminal.
Ketan Advani, Mumbai
Talking about the Congress, Vinod Mehta in his Delhi Diary (May 29), says, "their sole and solitary interest is the advance of their respective careers". But this is true not only of the Congress. It holds true for most of our countrymen. It is nothing unusual for us Indians to crawl and prostrate before outsiders to get the better of our fellowmen. We did it with numerous foreign invaders of the past, now we do it before mncs.
I.T. Lazarus, on e-mail
In the article The Reich Rebuffed (June 5), Indian computer professionals working in India and the US were referred to as 'geeks'. According to a definition on the Net, a geek is someone who spends time being 'social' on a computer. Someone who just uses it for work, but doesn't spend free time 'online', is not a geek. It's hard to resist a trendy phrase, but at least know its meaning before you use it.
Sajit Kunjachen, on e-mail
It was over two decades ago that I, along with another 40 of the top 100 jee rankers, entered the chemical engineering class at iit Bombay (The Best and the Brightest, May 29). I often wondered if I blew away my youth juggling alphas and betas and solving intricate thermodynamic models with one-dimensional solutions. As head of strategic marketing for a Fortune 500 firm in the Asia-Pacific region, the five-year snapshots have stood me in good stead. The iit experience develops an uncanny ability to survive in a competitive set-up. Thank you Outlook for jogging the romance.
Rajive Chandra, on e-mail
Wonder why you didn't mention that a seventh iit's been sanctioned at Gulbarga, Karnataka and will be operational soon.
Shrinidhi Hande, Udupi, Karnataka
Your cover story on iits typically projects the male perspective. My sister was an iitian but was never able to carve a career she wanted. Despite winning a Commonwealth Fellowship to the University of Bath, she gave it up because she was told that being too educated would not bode well for a marriage.
Mrs Surya, Chennai
Doing India Proud is all right, but with a population of 100 crore, just picking out a few people is not a great deal.
Krishna C.., on e-mail
By glorifying the iits and the 'success' achieved by iitians, the article seems to justify their pre-emption of the country's intellectual resources. This euphoria about technical education is one reason for the lack of sufficient serious students in the humanities in India. And not all of India's most intelligent students give the jee but decide to pursue other branches of knowledge. Thus the claim that iitians are the creme de la creme does not hold any ground.
Viplav Saini, New Delhi
Your cover story on the iits was a fine trip down memory lane. But why was the Institute of Technology, bhu, which is also counted among the iits, not mentioned? Its name has not been changed to iit because of bhu, but all students here have to clear the iit-jee and everything here is the same as in any other iit. In future, please don't forget any link in the iit chain.
Manish, on e-mail
Though iitians deserve all accolades, isn't it a fact that India does not benefit from them due to the brain drain? They should be made to sign a bond when they enter iit to serve the country for at least 10 years. Otherwise why would an Indian citizen like me pay taxes just to help these guys migrate?
Srini Aiyer, Bangalore
Thank you for appreciating the culture of excellence and success fostered by the iits. But your article seems to be inspired more by the glamour that iits and iitians 'enjoy' and less by an objective to present a true picture to the reader.
You say iitians led a spartan life. But life in Sparta didn't include hunting for drinking water in hostels during exam nights, waiting for enough water to use the toilets, food that, besides food, has insects, hair, metal, stone, rubber bands, etc in it. The drainage system in most iit hostels would put any civil engineer to shame.
Maneesh Soni, Virginia, US
Contrary to what's suggested in the Metamorphosis of Belief (May 29), Rajiv Gandhi's gruesome murder in May 1991 changed drastically the attitude of responsible political formations towards the ltte. M. Karunanidhi, whose dmk then got the maximum flak, publicly disowned his party's association with the ltte. Since then, the dmk's been true to the words of its chief.
V. Tamil Selvan, Chennai
You refer to dmk's policies as contradictory, but which party in India hasn't changed views in due course? The dmk split from the DK; gave up its separatist demand and became part of mainstream politics. In its pronouncements over Sri Lanka, it has voiced its views as a responsible nda constituent.
A. Jacob Sahayam, Karigiri, Tamil Nadu
The article Fair Sex or Fair Game? (May 29) reminded me of famous feminist Germaine Greer's apt statement on the similarity of treatment meted out to cows and women in India. Both, according to her, are worshipped, and worked to death.
Nikita Doual, New Delhi
By all means, hang Manoj Prabhakar by his feet if the intelligence available with you warrants it. But please do not take a somersault on the cricket suspects named earlier. The cover story on Prabhakar (Caught Out, June 5) is a clever attempt to deflect public gaze from the prime suspect.
G.P. Jain, Delhi
I read your "urgent press release" about evidence suggesting Prabhakar's involvement in match-fixing. Maybe it's true. But why's this evidence being talked about now, when it's been with the powers-that-be for years! How come Prabhakar's being tainted after he's named Kapil guilty? Has the media lost all sense of integrity and moral rectitude? Outlook's a widely read magazine. Don't throw your reputation away like this.
Ramesh, Sydney
It was Outlook which made Prabhakar a hero who exposed match-fixing and it's the same magazine now which is projecting him as a match-fixer. Is Prabhakar now being disgraced because he chose a certain website to break the news? We all know who the ceo of that website is and how he parted ways with Outlook. Is that why Outlook is determined to prove Prabhakar a match-fixer now?
Mohammad S. Ashraf, Lucknow
I was appalled at your patently biased cover story. Just what game are you playing? Don't you know that an approver's evidence is entertained universally? And if Madhavrao Scindia was informed of this in the early 1990s, why don't you have the guts to ask him why nothing came of it?
L.Y. Rao, Mumbai
Your cover story was nothing but old wine in new bottle. It was a mixture of views of all Prabhakar-baiters and old allegations against him were served up to keep the issue alive.
Vaibhav, Pune
It seems Outlook's out to destroy any credibility Prabhakar might have. Prabhakar may be no angel, but it doesn't change the fact that 'legends' like Kapil and Azhar are guilty. Again, Prabhakar's videotapes may not be admissible as evidence in court. But when I see prominent people telling me on TV that matches are fixed and people like Kapil are involved, I don't need a judge to tell me what's going on.
Dipam Bora, Tokyo
Interestingly, Mongia, Vaidya and Sidhu (shown in a photograph with Prabhakar) weren't actually present when paaji made Manu the offer, but heard about it only later. Isn't it possible all four of them are trying to fix Kapil? Or is it that by publishing a story on Prabhakar's involvement in match fixing, Outlook's trying not to appear pro-Prabhakar? Good try! But better luck next time!
Madhav B., Hyderabad
What Prabhakar says may or may not be true but the episode has compelled many not to trust the cricketers when they claim they play for the country. There are many unsung heroes who devoted their entire life to hockey, wrestling or other sports but are leading miserable lives.
Awanish Somkuwar, Bhopal
Your cover story Kapil's Devils was terribly one-sided. Almost as if he paid you money to present his side of the story. It was published before Prabhakar's videotape revelation in Delhi; perhaps you've changed your mind since then. Can we look forward to a more balanced story? Surprisingly you don't mention Dalmia's role (the biggest crook of them all!).
Bhagwan Gehani, Mumbai
Sandipan Deb's bang on target. We too couldn't care less if his journalistic work's an edifice of vacuous nonsense and tissue of lies as long as it's a good read.
Minnie Randhawa, on e-mail
I am shocked that anyone can exonerate Kapil of his crimes. I belong to the Kapil-Gavaskar generation and have sacrificed a lot of time and energy watching Kapil perform.
Following the publication in Outlook, under the title, Kapil's Devils (May 22), of my alleged involvement with match-fixing, I wish to make it clear that:
