Once in a while Outlook does come out with some serious, interesting and meaningful stories. A case in point are the articles, Confessions of an Insider, The Age of Reason and Muse in the Machine (June 5). Please leave out all the crooks and crocs (including their tears) of Indian cricket for good, for, Outlook has already given them enough exposure.
R.K. Sudan, Rajouri, J&K
In the cover story Doing India Proud (May 29), you say that the IITs in India have a "standard 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent of seats reserved for scheduled castes and tribes respectively". But how much of this allotted percentage is actually filled? The guardians of IITs may say that sc/st applicants do not satisfy the iit's admission criteria. But then how many Dalit children can afford to go to a private school education or enrol in a prep school for jee?
Dr R.S. Sridhar, Dalit Media Network, Nottinghamshire, UK
In his column A Strange Collaboration (June 12) Prem Shankar Jha says since Musharraf is willing to help combat terrorism in Sri Lanka, we should believe his assertion that he wants to prevent fundamentalist violence in Pakistan and that he might be keen to start a process of detente. He also suggests that Musharraf has some control over the jehadis.
But Jha should know that the jehad in Kashmir is mainly being fought by non-Kashmiris. The LTTE's battle in Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is 100 per cent Tamil - be it funds or men. So Musharraf's ability to 'persuade' the jehadis is largely suspect.
I. Vidyadhar, New Delhi
Your article Swamped by a White Glut (June 12) convinced me about switching to imported milk products. For not only are they cheaper, but more hygienic too. In any case, our local products have more of water and less of milk in them, what to speak of hygiene standards maintained by the cooperatives and the local suppliers.
Gaurav Savant, on e-mail
Saffron's Fading Flavour (June 12) is a timely pointer to the BJP's falling fortunes. In Bengal, it drew a blank in the municipal elections. In UP, it had to bite the dust at the hustings, losing a seat it had held to Kalyan Singh. In Bihar, Rabri Devi, despite serious corruption charges, has humbled the nda, of which the BJP is the major partner, wresting the Raghopur assembly seat. This nosedive in BJP's popularity is obviously due to the overbearing attitude of the Sangh parivar towards the minorities and because of the spurt in inner-party bickerings.
Tarlok Singh, New Delhi
The BJP, we now know, is no different from the Congress. Only the fear of the Congress waiting to come to power is keeping those within the BJP united. Nor is the BJP likely to stay in power for 45 years as the Congress has.
C. Deenadayal, on e-mail
It's amazing that a mere sub-inspector can become an 'arabpati' in the land of the Mahatma (His Law of the Land, June 12). There is nothing wrong with making and accumulating money though legal means or by investing time and effort. But a sub-inspector with a limited income becoming a millionaire merely confirms what we all know: that corruption has become a common culture among government officials.
Fahad Tanveer, on e-mail
The article Pacific Reactions (June 12) was a grim account of the situation in Fiji. One wonders what the US would have done in a similar situation? Would it have issued an ultimatum to the coup leader to release the hostages or face military intervention? If nato could intervene in Kosovo to guard an ethnic minority suppressed by a majority, why can't we at least use stronger language to send a clear message to the coup leader and the military rulers? Merely slapping sanctions or suspending Fiji from the Commonwealth won't help the hostages.
D.B.. Murthy, on e-mail
You aptly described the message that went out at the Bhondsi ashram enclave that "there is an alternative" to the Vajpayee government as a "last ditch effort on the part of the four currently out-of-job former prime ministers to emerge out of political hibernation" (Just Another Old Boys' Club, June 12).
In fact, these four old guys had, in the past, provided an alternative to each other: Chandra Shekhar to V.P. Singh, P.V. Narasimha Rao to Chandra Shekhar, H.D. Deve Gowda to Rao, I.K. Gujral to Gowda and so on.
Amba Charan Vasishth, on e-mail
I congratulate Karnataka chief minister S.M. Krishna for the steps he's taking to rein in babus (Taking on Mr Babu, June 5). These babus consider themselves the inheritors of the Raj and their sole function is to harass the natives. Work and honesty don't figure in their lexicon. Remember the problems created by babus in Haryana and West Bengal, when the CM wanted them to attend office on time.
Vidya Sagar, Delhi
There is a saying in Sanskrit, Vivek-Bhrasthanam vinipat satmukh. Those who lose self-confidence, degenerate in a hundred ways. The Congress is too old and sick now to live any more (The Forked Tongue Brigade, May 29). It's now time for it to die a natural death. Nobody in the country will shed a drop of valuable tear on it. The earlier this happens, the better it is for the party as well as the country.
Ratilal Thakkar, Ahmedabad
Apropos Lucknow's Lara (May 29), it's pathetic to see parents pushing their impressionable children to achieve a moment's 'glory'. Women have always been considered vain and it's sad to see intelligent women succumbing too. Besides, do Yukta Mookhey, Lara Dutta, Sushmita Sen represent Indian beauty? They approximate the western concept of beauty, be it in their heights, physical proportions or accents.
Dr Rugaiya Qureshi, Mhow, MP
The plight of kushti is no worse than that of our other traditional sports like kabaddi and kho-kho (The Pit of No Return, May 22). Why can't we be like the Chinese, Thais, Koreans or the Japs who promote their traditional sports not just in their country, but around the world. Hence the popularity of Tae-kwon-do, Muay-Thai, Wu-Shu, Sepak-Thakraw, Sumo and judo.
A.H. Hameed, Kochi
In the article Fall of a False Hero (April 17), you say: "Consider this: he obtained a fake degree from Jamia Millia Islamia on the basis of which he got a job in London." This is misleading as no one can 'obtain' a 'fake' degree from a university. Jamia Millia is a Central University and we run a number of courses for which degrees are awarded as per our rules and procedures.
Prof Anisur Rahman, New Delhi
Apropos your feature on IITs (May 29), I'm reminded of this couplet: Humko maloom hai jannat ki haqiqat lekin, dil ke khush rakhne ko Ghalib yeh khayal achcha hai!
Mridula Dwivedi, IIT Kanpur
Weapons of Peace have proved unusable in 50 years of war (Nuclear Family, May 8). A single nuclear exchange in northern India will cripple the globalised economy. The allusion to the Teller-Oppenheimer feud brings to mind Dr Teller's talk at mit in the '60s. His hawkish stance on Vietnam and his incredible proposal to continue testing (on the moon if necessary) was roundly heckled by most of the brilliant young minds assembled. Nuclear parity is a game played for the benefit of politicians and diplomats, it won't make India great.
Buddha Bagai, New Delhi
I am not sure whether you run a magazine or a law firm for Kapil Dev. I admit I'm a Kapil fan. That doesn't mean I'm willing to believe a statement like "Kapil is not being alleged to have taken money but of offering it" (Kapil's Devils, May 22). Like our politicians, no one can put Kapil (or other cricketers) behind bars. Why should Outlook then dig up silly technical nuances to defend Kapil?
E. Anand Samuel, on e-mail
Match-fixers and their facilitators in the cricket teams and outside are no less than hijackers and kidnappers (Caught Out, June 5). Banning them for life or erasing their records will not be enough. They should also be deprived of their ill-gotten wealth.
T.S. Chawla, Mohali
Manoj Prabhakar drops his bombshell on Indian cricket, courtesy Outlook. A while later he drops another one but this time via tehelka.com, a startup floated by ex-Outlookers. Predictably Outlook reacts to this 'betrayal' with a piece titled Accuser Stands Accused.
My only question to Outlook is: why was it patronising Prabhakar when it knew all along that he too had a hand in match-fixing? Isn't this selective reporting akin to perpetrating fraud upon its readers?
Charles Amos, Calcutta
That match-fixing is rampant in India is a sad fact. Your magazine was one of the first to bring this to light and deserves kudos for the same.
It'll be interesting now to investigate the collusion between mediapersons with bookies and players in match-fixing. For it's surprising that in such a high-profile sport, your magazine was alone in bringing this to light.
Shriram Rajagopalan, Berkshire, UK
Kapil Dev was never a great batsman as Sandipan Deb makes him out to be in a lameduck defence of the cricketer (I don't care...). His style in his heyday was generously described as 'agricultural'! Give the devil his due - he was certainly a good bowler - but never a batsman.
P.D. Singh, on e-mail
Cricket has been a curse to India. The fanaticism among people towards it has virtually killed all other games. The match-fixing episode has been a blessing in disguie. At least, people will now concentrate on other sports.
T. Krishnadas Rai, Bangalore
Contrary to Bhaichand Patel's assertion in Cannes Diary (June 12) that "the biggest film-producing country in the world gets two minor awards in 53 years", India has actually won three awards (besides Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay) and none of them is minor.
Mrinal Sen's Kharij won the Jury award in 1983. In 1956 when Pather Panchali won the Prix du document humain, it was the most important award along with Bergman's Summer Interlude (winner of the Prix du l'humor poetique) and Jacques Cousteau's Le Monde du Silence (Palm d'or).
Soumya Mukhopadhyay, Calcutta
The increasing rate of caesarean sections is a matter of great concern (A Profitable Operation, June 5). Pregnant women and their families from urban areas are equally responsible for this trend.
Dr Archana Baser, Indore
In the article Moor's Last Sigh (March 20) you refer to Padma Lakshmi, girlfriend of Salman Rushdie, as a 'South Indian beauty'. Why is that Indian magazines never refer to any model or actress from the north as a 'North Indian beauty'? The Indian media uses the generic 'South Indian' in the same way bigots use the pejorative 'Madrasi' to denote all those from the south without bothering to recognise their individual ethnic identities.
And how is it that Bipasha Basu or Sushmita Sen can be called 'Bengali Babes'; Diana Hayden be qualified as an 'Anglo-Indian beauty' and references abound to a Parsi girl, a Gujarati chick or a Sindhi lady? Why can't those from the south be referred to by their Tamil, Telegu, Malayali or Kannadiga identity? Then again, the media never referred to Rani Jeyaraj, runner-up in the Miss World contest, as a Tamil beauty; now you suppress the Tamil identity of Padma Lakshmi. Are you allergic to the word 'Tamil' even if it refers to beautiful women?
Jemima Manohari, Chennai
