It’s amusing to see Outlook take the moral high-ground when it comes to rumour-mongering (A City of Yellow Paint, June 4). You list the ‘PM’s failing health’ as Delhi’s top rumour, when not so long ago you did a cover on exactly that. Of course, this was ‘credible information’ from ‘highly-placed sources’. Likewise, you highlight the Advani-Vajpayee ‘rift’ with unfailing regularity. Yet you yourself admit it’s the most highly-publicised rumour in Delhi’s political corridors. Your source, obviously, is ‘a senior bureaucrat, speaking on condition of anonymity’. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, Mr Mehta.
Vikram Vasu, Chennai
In the box Believe It or Not, Outlook said Reuters had erroneously reported the resignation of Yashwant Sinha. In fact, the Reuters report referred to quoted the finance minister as saying that he had not resigned and had no plans to do so.
John Chalmers, Reuters India Limited
It’s encouraging to see Outlook recording the potential of domestic tourism in India (Welcome Break, June 4). Till yesterday our lament was that India’s an ideal destination for foreign tourists, yet they don’t come; today if immediate steps are not taken to woo Indian tourists, tomorrow our lament will be that more Indians prefer to spend their holidays abroad.
Rajiv Varma, New Delhi
Insurgency in Assam is not due to the lack of employment schemes for educated youth alone (A Home Run, May 28), but because of a lack of true political leadership and strong political ideology in the state.
Suresh Borah, Makum, Assam
I don’t have enough praise for Outlook for its article Rich Man’s Law (June 4). It really is the only newsmagazine in India independent enough to take such a stance. In fact, it was because of the bmw case that I moved out of the country. The idea that members of one’s family could be raped, killed or maimed casually by someone who lives in Golf Links or on Akbar Road who could then go back to his Ivy League school was so repugnant to me that I told my fiancee I’d leave the country should the Nanda chap get away. And I did. What’s completely horrendous is that the middle-class shield of an education, a good job and some mild connections are completely ineffective in the face of booming guns of multi-million dollar arms deals and fleets of cars that could buy entire towns in the cow belt. That’s when you realise that good plus (decent everyday folk) and not just pavement-dwellers are the powerless that you want to run away from, from all that was once home.
Gautam Babbar, on e-mail
Being away from India, I get little opportunity to read about events there. Besides, the poor production quality of Indian publications always disappoints me. But I was delighted to see your May 28 issue with its thoughtful and well-executed cover on Jayalalitha, rivalling any international publication.
Mihir Joshi, San Francisco
The literacy rate figures in the 2001 Census, specially for Tamil Nadu, must be highly exaggerated for Jayalalitha to have had such a resounding win there.
Jayant Dwarkadas, on e-mail
Don’t you have anything better to write on than Jayalalitha and the monkey man?
Sushil Jain, on e-mail
Rich Man’s Law (June 4) was a bold article highlighting the warped and corrupt nature of our judicial system where the high-profile, influential and wealthy lawbreakers can escape the consequences by hook or crook. However, what’s more revolting to digest is the lack of solidarity among the tribe of victims. Like in the bmw case where at least two of the people killed were police constables on night patrol. Couldn’t the police see justice was being denied and subverted by the very law they are required to uphold? Couldn’t the cops have registered some form of protest?
George J. Coelho, Mumbai
Articles like these hit home the fact that we’re a bunch of cowards, who can’t stand up to our rich politicians and bureaucrats.
Monny Rath, on e-mail
The sad fact is that even the media in India is controlled by the rich. These incidents make it to the front pages when they happen, but there’s a whimper when blatant injustice is being done. It’s a sad comment on our "free press". But once in a while, there’s an Outlook to restore your faith in Indian democracy.
Rajesh Nair, on e-mail
The story deserves eight out of 10. Primordial prejudices and purchasing of judgements is the depressing norm in India. We must now evolve a quick and fair mechanism to punish judges who deliberately give dishonest judgements. You’ve done your job, now I wish the police and judges do theirs.
Rakesh Sharma, on e-mail
I find it difficult to subscribe to Dr Mohan Gopal’s view advocating a system where the court "has the discretion to go after the truth". A judge has to proceed as per material on record and evidence adduced. There is little room for personal biases in the name of initiative.
Shakil Ahmed Azam, New Delhi
The Yellow Star of David of the Nazi era has taken the form of yellow badges for non-Muslims (especially Hindus and Sikhs) in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan (The Timid Herd, June 4). But this code seems to be for their benefit and should be welcomed as long as it doesn’t affect their ‘freedom of religion’. Won’t it be worse if a fundamentalist version of Islam/shariat is forced on non-Muslims?
S. Balakrishnan, on e-mail
Apropos "Labour reforms are not anti-poor" (June 4), your correspondent had indeed interviewed me more than two months ago on the subject. However, in the interview published now, some inaccuracies seem to have crept in. I don’t recollect having made any reference either to V.P. Singh or Chandra Shekhar supporting the reforms. The particular statement attributed to me in this regard is inaccurate. As also the statement that the focus of the proposed National Company Law Tribunal will be to wind up sick units. In fact, the focus is just the opposite—reviving sick units and if all efforts fail, only then recommend alternate steps.
Arun Jaitley, Minister of Law, New Delhi
In the article Unshackling the Locked Gates, you say the number of jute mills on both sides of the Hooghly runs into hundreds; the precise number of jute mills in West Bengal is 52 and the number of closed mills is 12. As for sica, repealing it won’t speed up the process of winding up sick companies. Under the present law, promoters are obliged to register under the bifr for a rehabilitation package which has to be agreed to by all parties. There’s complete embargo on disposal of any asset once a unit’s registered, which is why, contrary to your assertion, promoters can’t strip companies of their assets in the interim.
G.R. Saha, Calcutta
Apropos your cover story Now, the Meat (June11), a Vajpayee-Musharraf talk would be nothing more than an exercise in diplomatic futility. Kashmir is the unfinished agenda of Partition. If it goes to Pakistan, then it’ll be an endorsement of the two-nation theory and India’s future as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state would be under threat. If, however, India comes out on top, Pakistan’s future as an Islamic state would be very dark. And neither Vajpayee nor Musharraf would want to make it to history books for the wrong reason.
Arjun Kumar, on e-mail
Why is it that each time someone comes up with some senseless and never-ending piece of nonsense about "settling the Kashmir issue", there’s so much hype? ‘Vintage Vajpayee’, ‘tacit capitulation, ‘his second coup’, and you’re left saying ‘Oh no, not again’.
Ashwini Sankar, on e-mail
Time and again, the political leadership of our country has been found chasing the mirage of world opinion in times of a crisis, negating the gains made on the battlefield. One vainly hoped that the BJP was a party with a difference. Alas, they’ve displayed nothing but confused thinking, where the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing!
Lt Col (rtd) M.M. Walia, Mumbai
Do we seriously expect an outstanding problem of over 50 years to be resolved in 50 hours and that too, without any homework?
Suja Nambiar, Karaikal
Less than 24 hours after the declaration of the prospective summit, Pakistan’s high commissioner to India held forth that he expects the summit to result in a plebiscite on Kashmir. India should undertake a massive campaign to show that Pakistan’s claims to being a well-wisher of Muslims in that region are bogus. The real and only reason for Pakistan to keep the Kashmir issue unresolved, and escape from the UN resolution that post-1947 illegal entrants to the j&k state must vacate, is the fact that its military budget is beyond audit and helps its military dictators launder narco-money.
P.C. Deshmukh, Georgia, US
Why do the leaders of the Hurriyat Conference and other pro-Pakistani and pro-azadi Kashmiris want to choose a destiny for their people which would take them to a point of no return? What’ll they actually gain in terms of economic progress and better standard of living or human rights if they choose to go to an economically bankrupt and socially fragmented Pakistan, whose record of human rights is no better than ours and whose religious extremism goes against the very grain of Kashmiriyat?
N.N. Thukral, Delhi
The invitation to Gen Musharraf is a warm gesture but Pakistan would use it to its advantage. There will be very little outcome of this dialogue. Moreover, I cannot understand the logic behind allowing all other sports but cricket with Pakistan.
Nilanjan Mukherji, Lucknow
History is replete with examples that the world’s greatest peace initiatives have seen success only when at least one side has shown flexibility on its stated ‘rigid’ position. With his Lahore bus trip, the Lahore declaration, the ceasefire and now this invitation, Vajpayee’s demonstrated his commitment to peace. Now we need to see if Pakistan is equally committed or it will as usual pay peace lip-service.
Vipul Bondal, on e-mail
Now that Vajpayee has thrown up his hands and invited Gen Musharraf for talks on Kashmir, it suddenly becomes clear what all the hue and cry about the monkey man was all about. Obviously, he was an isi agent, sent to Delhi to reduce the Indian government into a state of total stupidity.
Satadru Sen, St Louis, Missouri
What’s Vajpayee angling for? The Nobel peace prize?
Kartik Shenoy, on e-mail
The tragedy in the Nepal royal family can easily be attributed to a bunch of squeamish astrologers who advised that the scion not marry before he was 35. And to think that, closer home, Union hrd minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi wants to make Indian universities manufacturing bases of these purveyors of false beliefs!
Vijayaraghavan A.C., Bahrain
Last forthnight, Outlook forwarded a sum of Rs 22,87,373.49 collected under its Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund to the Shri Bhojay Sarvodaya Trust for its re-housing scheme for the people of Kutch. Under this scheme, the quake-affected will be provided with raw material free of cost and asked for their advice on the kind of structures they would like to be built.Total List Of Contributors
