It’s now clear that you would leave no stone unturned to belittle A.B. Vajpayee, even if it means dissecting him completely (Those Seventy Plus Blues, September 11). Your details on osteoarthritis were highly informative, but quite unnecessary in the context.
Gayathri C., Chennai
The PM is okay so long as the media does not over-react to his age-related infirmities, or indeed his sweet tooth.
S. Soundararajan, on e-mail
Those Seventy Plus Blues epitomised the nation’s concern over its PM’s health. But if our government servants can retire at 58 or 60 years, those in the military can retire even earlier, what stops our lawmakers from following suit? An age limit, say 65 years, should be imposed, beyond which all presidents, ministers, advisors and consultants will have to compulsorily retire. Why not give the younger generation a chance and let them run the show that’s truly theirs?
Air Cmde (rtd) R. Singh, Pune
The anecdote on our PM turning up with only one shoe on an Independence Day function was interesting. Any nation requires leaders who’re strong in body, mind and soul. A leader who loses any of these three attributes should gracefully retire without becoming a laughing stock or a cause for concern for the nation.
S.V. Sudhir, on e-mail
You write that Vajpayee’s blood pressure average is (80-130). Is it the same as (130-80), or is it a printer’s devil?
L. Rajamani, Bangalore
In a democracy, people expect their leader to be fit physically and mentally. They expect him to travel to far-flung areas of the country, meet the people and listen to their problems. Vajpayee is no longer in a position to travel and meet the very people who’ve elected him. It’s perhaps the greatest imperfection of our Constitution that it has prescribed no upper age limit for politicians.
Kanak R. Nambiar, on e-mail
In a newsreport on Vajpayee’s visit to the US, it was said that the PM would seek IC indictment of Pakistan for abetting terrorism. When I saw it, I thought IC referred to the International Court (of Justice). But then I discovered IC meant International Community! Is Vajpayee naive enough to depend on outsiders to solve our internal problems!
G. Murali, Chennai
Nothing is more important to us Indians than the good health of our prime minister.
Shashwat Gupta Ray, Baroda
I’m a Florida-based doctor and was on a short visit to India. I read your cover story. It’s no wonder that rulers in India rush to the US even for treatment of minor ailments as even eminent doctors here have no knowledge of basics. Osteoarthritis is a natural outcome of years of faulty food habits and lack of physical exercise but no way is it "as natural as greying of hair" as made out by Dr K.S. Rao.
Meera Chandra, Florida, US
You’ve used the word ‘prostrate’ instead of prostate in your cover. Freudian slip or what?
Dr S.K. Vohra, New Delhi
Anita Pratap (Pride Under Water, September 11) is entitled to slam the Russian government for its handling of the Kursk tragedy. But using the Russian case as a stick to beat Indians with, because "it could happen in India", is a clumsy device which won’t enhance her journalistic reputation, such as it is.
S. Venkatesan, on e-mail
Anita Pratap’s columns are a refreshing break from the overdose of politics and finance. Unlike other pontificating columns, she writes on the simple things of life which matter to us, the ordinary citizens who have no political axe to grind or black money to invest.
D.P. Agrawal, Ahmedabad
Practice Makes Profits (September 11) was an eye-opener. I too have been a victim of a star hospital. In 1998, I lost my only daughter with twin boys (undelivered) at the age of 24 due to septicaemia. My approach to the apex court through petition and the nhrc and other authorities fell on deaf ears. Only timely action by the authorities can prevent such negligence.
R.C. Nair, Chennai
I can’t understand why the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments are acceding to Veerappan’s demands and laying waste the sacrifices of police and forest officials (The Price of Blood is Relative, September 11). Would their response have been the same had the brigand kidnapped an ordinary citizen instead of Dr Rajkumar?
Partha Goswami, Guwahati
Abdul Karim in his interview ("Dismiss these two governments") has said the very words we’ve been thinking about for years. We claim to be a civilised society. Yet the two state governments have not been able to nab Veerappan for so long.
Talekana K. Rai, on e-mail
I sincerely think there should be a military operation and Veerappan should be made to beg for mercy.
Karthik G. Kamath, on e-mail
Abdul Karim not only has to suffer the loss of a child but also has to use his savings to fight a legal battle that could stall the release of Veerappan’s criminal associates. Is it possible to set up a fund for the likes of Karim, Preetha Harikrishna and Rachappa’s parents. I’m sure there’ll be many like me who’d want to support their cause.
Shylaja Narayanan, on e-mail
It’s not India which is a soft state (The Eclair State, August 28), but its people who lack courage. Which is why relatives of hijacked IC 814 could demonstrate before the PM’s house, even if the integrity of the nation could be compromised, especially after Kargil.
Aftab Khanna, on e-mail
The idea of one common test replacing the many tests students currently write is commendable, especially if many state and central institutions agree to join (Who Wants a nest, September 11). However, it would lead to a very high dependence on the students’ performance in a particular test. This is a frequent comment on the sat in the US. It would be better to have two or three such tests and take their average as the final indicator of performance.
Rohit Tirumala, Minneapolis, US
Apropos Decline of the Bhadralok (September 4), since when have Bengalis become such a herd of lambs that they cannot even see what’s good for them?
Somnath Ray, New Delhi
The Maharashtrian Brahmin is in a similar situation as the Bengali. He too lives in the past and thrives on the memories of the Peshwas, Tilak, Ranade and Gokhale. I am referring to the Chitpavans of Pune, to which community I belong.
K.D. Vartak, on e-mail
In a graph accompanying the cover story which depicts West Bengal’s ranking among 18 states, ficci has been cited as the source. But ficci had obtained the data from me and at no stage did it take any authorisation from me to use the data without permission. I hadn’t expected ficci to indulge in such an unethical practice.
Nilanjan Banik, New Delhi
Your cover story must have been read with interest in Bihar as the Bengal government complacently claims it’s a shade better than the former! Laloo may be appropriate as ghost-CM for a muscle-brained Bihar, and Marxist Jyoti Babu is fit for the supposedly more intellectual Bengal. But both, one through his crafty ways, and the other through his intellect, have ruined their respective states.
P. Banerjee, Bangalore
Apropos The Past Master (August 28), Irfan Habib’s present project of tracing a history of the people of India from the very roots where it was created and given shape would perhaps explain why despite so many years of Independence, we still do not have a sense of being a people and define ourselves by our differences? Words like pluralism, mixed culture, toleration, etc, are mere glosses of inconvenience - they cannot explain the Indian context!
M.C. Gabriel, Secunderabad
The dying out of the Pashmina trade is one classic example of the neglect of our small-scale industries (Flight of the Golden Fleece, August 28). India has a rich heritage in terms of arts and crafts from each region, but we seem to have decided that what comes from the West is the best. It is easy to be proud of our heritage but it needs immense effort to keep it alive.
Amrita Thakore, Ahmedabad
An ode to the September 4 edition of Glitterati:
Is the Outlook Glitterati
Merely for a** and t**ty?
It helps if the lingo is shi**y!
Such is the world of fashion
Each tie a festering lesion!
Harsh Puri, Bhopal
The Second Coming was a shockingly crass and sacrilegious title for the August 21 cover story. Surely, you know that these words refer to Christ’s prophesied return to earth? You should remember that in good communication, you ‘say what you mean and mean what you say’. Nor was the cover headline, screaming God is Back, in any better taste. It implied that those who pay attention to the spiritual dimension of life are lacking in intelligence or sanity. It would do you well to remember that religion and religiosity are two different things. Let us not sacrifice what is sacred in order to gain popularity; or exchange sense for sensation.
M. Rathnakar, Bangalore
