While the true Islamists of the world have condemned the Vandals of Eternity (March 12), it’s paradoxical that a citizen of India, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, has come out in its support. He links the act to the destruction of the Babri Masjid. But he should know that the Bamiyan Buddhas were not erected after destroying any pre-existing structure. Though his statements have been negated by Islamic scholars worldwide, Indian Muslims should stop paying heed to Imam Bukhari, as he seems determined to disrupt India’s social harmony. Like father, like son, shall we say?
Dr Balram Mishra, New Delhi
By destroying the peacefully-standing, unarmed Buddha, the Taliban have not only destroyed art, but also uprooted the values of peace, culture and creativity. Commenting on Buddha’s contribution to humanity, Osho says: "Dharma simply means the law. You can’t worship it...only understand it...live it.... You have to live according to the law. Whenever you go against it, you are in misery..."
Satya Vedant, Osho Commune, Pune
I’m no supporter of the Taliban and their act should be universally condemned. But I was surprised to see the Sangh parivar raise such a hue and cry. Aren’t they two sides of the same coin?
N. Adhami, on e-mail
The problem with fundamentalist Muslims is that they do not use individual discretion in the matter of faith. Which is why it becomes easier for their leaders/politicians to exploit their gullibility in the name of religion but for their own goals.
Parjan Kumar Jain, New Delhi
When the Afghan government in the ’70s sought help from some 10 countries as well as unesco to protect the idols, nothing was done. When the Russian army overran Afghanistan, their soldiers carved their names on the statues. As for the French army, it once used the idols as rifle-shooting targets and also destroyed some of the statues inside the cave. And now these very people are condemning the Taliban’s act!
P.N. Biswas, Calcutta
I agree when Vinod Mehta in The Power of Silence (March 12) asks what sin we’ve done to deserve the Opposition we have? Every few weeks the great Indian sloth bestirs and opposes something for the sake of opposition, then goes back up the tree and hangs itself upside down. Like sloths, they move along by dragging themselves along on their hands. And like sloths, they can stand on their feet, but can’t walk on them.
Anjana Beniwal, Washington DC
What sins have the people of this country done to deserve journalists like you!
Satish K. Tiwary, Edinburgh, UK
Rigging the pmo (March 5) was a bold exposé as far as the highest office of the land is concerned, especially when the press is also party to the information blackout by the government. It’s sanity versus sanitisation!
P. Lala, Guwahati
I was once told that our bachelor PM had an ear only for HER. I mulled over it till I realised HER was Hindujas, Essar and Reliance!
V. Sivaraj, UAE
Apropos The Easy Way Out (March 12), is it against your policy to elicit the views of those who live in the affected areas or conservationists who do not use magazines like yours to push their own agendas? It’s easy to sit in AC environs and make self-righteous comments. It’s quite another to eke out a subsistence during daytime and staying awake all night to protect crops from predators. The solution is to find a mean between blind protection and uncontrolled killing. MP and UP have already done so, Maharashtra is merely following suit.
K.D. Ghorpade, on e-mail
It’s not often that one gets to read such a poignant piece, also laden with so much sentiment as My Kind of Exile (March 12). We call them Tibetans, but do not even allow them the dignity of carrying a passport lest we offend the Hindi-Chini bhai bhai spirit.
Lavanya Srinivas, Rajahmundry
My Kind of Exile is a poignant reminder of man’s inhumanity to man. It’s enough suffering that the Tibetans have lost their homeland. The least we can do is treat them with compassion and respect.
Chitra Amarnath, on e-mail
I have always felt that there is a refugee in every good writer. Unfortunately, there is not always a good writer in every refugee. While your choice for first prize was as politically correct as it could possibly get, and while I empathise entirely with the writer of the piece, it’s possibly the most unevocative, unimaginative piece of exile-writing ever to win a first prize—redeemed only by the few lines of poetry in between. Pablo Neruda may have provided the writer solace; I only wish some of the great man’s music too had touched Tenzin Tsundue’s pen.
Ujjwala Samarth, on e-mail
The problem with self-proclaimed liberals like Amitava Kumar is that they ignore their own traditions to appease those of others (‘We are all converts’, March 19). He says he was already discussing the dates of his marriage with his in-laws-to-be when he decided to tell his parents about it. His justification is that he lives abroad and the decision to marry is his alone. But by the same token, shouldn’t her marriage have been the bride’s decision alone, in which case what was the author doing discussing his marriage with her parents? Shouldn’t he have extended the same courtesy to his own parents?
Siddhartha S. Singh, Evanston, Illinois
Behind Amitava Kumar’s lame justifications lie nothing but cowardice. Truth is, he just went with the flow of events and in retrospect is assuaging his guilt. After all, why did he have to change his name, why couldn’t he have stayed what he was? If some society forces its mark on others, it’s wrong. And equally wrong is its acceptance. By whatever convoluted logic.
Manoj Saxena, on e-mail
Amitava Kumar’s words sound strange. It’s all right if he wants to ‘convert’, but it doesn’t give him the right to be sanctimonious and condemn Hindu right-wing parties.
Ranjit ‘Ravidas’ Biswas,on e-mail
Dear Amitava, we Hindus don’t need your advice about our customs and rituals. If you have decided to convert, good for you. Leave us alone.
Sharan Shetty, on e-mail
Sir Donald Bradman would surely have completed a century of life had the Almighty not proved a rather tricky bowler for him. He was the man who’d converted his bat into a gun, the ball into a bullet and fired his way to glory. And had he played with today’s batting equipment, his highest score of 452 n.o. would’ve been different.
Ashok Buch, Ahmedaba
A Bill to Conquer (March 5) is indeed an article of great expectations, but do we have the will to make it come true? It’s common knowledge that 67 paise of every rupee earned by the government goes on salaries to employees in government offices. And most of these employees barely work, they just sign the roster and collect their pay. Unless there’s overall motivation to improve efficiency and productive output, rhetoric alone won’t achieve a thing.
K.V. Raghuram, Wyanad
I commend Maneka Gandhi’s banning of conventional whips in horse-racing. Can we request her to further extend the ban to the poor racehorse carrying the jockey!
H.P. Prasad, on e-mail
As a Muslim, my head hangs in shame when I hear of the desecration of the Bamiyan Buddhas (Vandals of Eternity, March 12). Islam does not permit the destruction of holy places. But then the Taliban are bigoted creatures whose views on Islam are not shared by many orthodox Islamic states. The world was already in existence when Islam was revealed. Nothing on earth can change that. But then as Indians, why are we making such a hue and cry? We accomplished this Talibanish feat when thousands of ‘enlightened kar sevaks’ descended on a dilapidated mosque to wipe it out in the name of god, religion, cultural nationalism and whatever? All this in a country of 15 crore Muslims.
Salahuddin Ahmed, Kuwait
The Gujarat earthquake, unfortunate as it is, has given grounds for casting needless aspersions on engineers’ accountability (Structures of Control, March 5). Safety is an important factor but it doesn’t come free and, in any economical design, has to be applied judiciously. An earthquake like the one which struck Bhuj is a once-in-a-century event and can’t be a yardstick for passing judgements on engineers or their designs. Professionalism has to improve, but an Engineers Bill would only add to paperwork and payoffs.
K. Sahasranaman,Mumbai
Apropos your cover story Back to Reform School (March 12), Yashwant Sinha has proved beyond doubt that it’s possible to keep most of the people happy for most of the time, if not all the people all the time, by balancing popular aspirations, economic considerations and political opportunism. For that alone, he deserves a big hand.
Amit Kumar Rai, Kharagpur
The FM’s been showered with praise for Budget 2001 from industry fat cats and mega-salary earners. Here’s a heavy brickbat for all it's worth. Hitherto senior citizens somehow kept their heads above water, balancing inflation with low interest rates. Sinha has removed the ground from under their feet. The only way I can hit back is not to vote bjp (or its allies) in the next polls.
V.K. Rayadu, Bangalore
Budget 2001 makes Sinner Sinha seem like a Saint. But this political performer from Bihar has only robbed the poor to make the rich richer. This budget is against the interests of the poor, the working class and retired, senior citizenry.
Ashok T. Jaisinghani, Pune
What has Mr Sinha done for agriculture? Raised the corpus of the Rural Infrastructure Fund VII from Rs 4,500 crore last year to Rs 5,000 crore. This is no big deal since the contributing banks will transfer their agriculture lending risks and transactions to nabard anyway. Other measures like kisan credit schemes to farmers and linking self-help groups to the banking system too are just cosmetic measures, with no real benefits flowing to agriculture.
B.S. Suran, Mumbai
Outlook’s rating of 8/10 to Budget 2001 seems to have been influenced by the reactions from industry. As prime funding agents of political parties, their interests have been fully protected. But do they deserve it? Those who ask for a level-playing field today milked scarce resources, neglected r&d, evaded taxes and pocketed the returns in a protected market for decades. Now the common man will get a lower rate of interest so that industry gets cheaper credit, he’ll be forced to remove his deposits from banks and put them in the equity funds market where again industry stands to benefit.
J.M. Manchanda, on e-mail
The industry might give Yashwant Sinha 8 out of 10 but as far as the common man is concerned, it should get no more than 4. Budget 2001 has dealt a cruel blow to retired people, has made cars cheaper but not travel by rail or road. As far as downsizing the bureaucracy is concerned, Mr Vajpayee should reduce his jumbo cabinet by 50 per cent. Savings, like charity, begins at home.
D.B.N. Murthy, Mumbai
Circumstances at the pmo forced the Bihari babu—Yashwant Sinha—to become competent, at least when it came to the budget.
A.S. Raj, on e-mail
