The timing of your story—when a measure of normalcy has returned in Gujarat—disturbed me initially‚ but then I guess the truth has to be told if indeed A Plot from the Devil’s Lair (June 3) is true. It has made me extremely curious to know the identity of the minister who had the courage to depose before the commission. Everyone knew of Modi’s role as pracharak, but your report shows him to be an inveterate liar. His bringing in K.P.S. Gill too is exposed as a belated attempt to save face once he realised his calculations had gone horribly wrong and the violence was continuing longer than he had expected. I still think he should be replaced with a moderate leader to regain the confidence of the masses. The other people present at the meeting too should come forward and explain their stand.
Krishna Kumar, Ahmedabad
Who is the minister? When he has deposed before the inquiry commission and also spoken to you, why conceal his identity?
Alok Joshi,London
Outlook writes: We know the name of the minister but cannot reveal it as he spoke to us and the commission strictly off the record.
If what the story says is true, then Modi and his supporters, including Advani and Vajpayee, are guilty too. And God will punish them.
Sachin Patil, Denver, US
The last line in the story, "the guilty are never punished", says it all. India will never rise above these routine and regular disasters if the justice system itself is skewed and ineffective. History shows that civilised society never prospers unless there is accountability in the ruling classes. Our ‘tryst with destiny’ will never happen unless justice is served.
Jawed Hawa, Singapore
There are only two things that I want to know now. Can Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee still afford to defend Modi or the Sangh parivar any more? The other is the implementation of the Police Commission’s recommendations. Here was a dutiful dgp who was pushed into obeying inhuman orders. Would the government at least now implement the recommendations urgently?
Parthasarthy B., on e-mail
Now Thrust, Now Parry (June 3). Yes, we have remained far too long under self-imposed restraint in the face of provocative cross-border terrorism and proxy war by Pakistan in j&k. This is undoubtedly a tremendous diplomatic advantage in our favour which we should use to full effect.
K.V. Raghuram, Wyanad
Your cover story is like a ray of hope in all the war hysteria. Why are our planners even thinking of a war, limited or full-scale, as an option? Don’t they understand the horrendous costs of war, especially if it were to go nuclear. No war has ever solved any problem; only created more. There is no substitute to meaningful dialogue to thrash out all outstanding issues with Pakistan without slackening our vigil on the LoC and the International Border.
D.B.N. Murthy, Bangalore
In my opinion, it’s nothing but the sheer lack of guts that’s holding India back. Pressure from the US or the nuclear threat from Pakistan are all very fine, but it’s Indian lives that are being lost, not American or Pakistani. Mere condemnations won’t suffice. The government has already made a fool of itself by deploying the army on the border for six months. The nda government is unnecessarily weighing too many things without taking any action. The Opposition too should give the government a blank cheque in this regard. We should defy the US in our own national and security interest.
Mohd Abdul Gaffar, Hyderabad
We explode nuclear devices to scare Pakistan but when it comes to the crunch we say we’d have sorted out Pakistan but for the nuclear weapons. And before going on about keeping Kashmir, shouldn’t we find out if we really deserve to or whether they want to stay with us?
Brig (retd) K.S. Chhokar, Delhi
I can’t do anything but despair at the idiocy of the Indian political leadership in outsmarting itself and getting itself cornered into a place from where it can’t escape (Let Us Defy Uncle Sam, June 3). We have our amy all primed and with nowhere to go, and there are still ‘responsible’ people in the country who think war is a solution to our problems. Alas, Mr Vinod Mehta, the question is not whether or not we can defy Uncle Sam but whether we stand to gain anything at all from such a move. We don’t even seem to have a plan! Like it or not, a solution to the Kashmir problem lies in a gradual reconciliation with Pakistan, and that is that.
Nikhil Pande, Memphis, Tennessee
Precisely what every Indian has in mind. I have spent the last decade trying to understand why we fear the US so much. Why can’t we do what the US does instead of doing what the US says? Vinod Mehta’s view that we will go up in everybody’s esteem, in my opinion, is accurate.
Eshwar, Milwaukee, US
Right on the money. The US government suffers from an institutionalised form of pathetic judgement. I don’t say this lightly—it has a litany of both internal and external disasters and trends to show for it. And to rest your head on someone with paltry judgement is stupidity personified.
V. Raghuram, San Mateo, California
I’ve been reading Vinod Mehta ever since he was writing columns for the Sunday magazine. His clear views, precise language (he sure could teach Arundhati Roy a lesson or two in brevity) and gentle humour make his columns a pleasure to read. His latest column too bears all these hallmarks, but strangely lacks enough sense. If there is one nation that can make Pakistan see reason, it’s the US. On our own, we can do nothing but hit against a brick wall. There is no use defying Uncle Sam just for the sake of defiance.
Raghav Venkatesh, Gulbarga
Right said Vinod Mehta. Why can’t Vajpayee tell George Bush that he is either with us (victims of terror) or with them (perpetrators of terror)?
Nafay, on e-mail
Expelled high commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi was the suave face of the evil Pakistani regime. Bhaichand Patel is smitten by his partying (Downtown, June 3), and has very conveniently forgotten how Qazi has on many occasions insulted India in TV discussions and interviews. Patel has also forgotten that diplomacy is not doling out drinks and dinner to the ever-willing journalists, buying them over and kicking the country on her face. The common man is only too happy to see him go and now he can lick his master’s boots in person.
Rajeev Sinha, on e-mail
I fully endorse what Anita Pratap says in her column The Cowardice of War (June 3). Today war is as outdated as the conquests of empires. What is a limited war? Only those limited in their thinking indulge in sabre-rattling and war rhetoric. If the bjp thinks this can ensure a win in the next elections, it is too high a price to pay.
Jyoti Swaroop, Chennai
What would Ms Pratap rather have us do? Sit and watch Musharraf ridicule and threaten us, send more jehadis and kill more innocents and for how long? Is she more afraid of losing her upper-class comforts than accusing people of losing their middle-class security?
Prasanna K.V., Mysore
Apropos Water, A Midsummer Nightmare (June 3), the acute shortage of water and electricity make our capital city Delhi a living hell. Power cuts in the night have robbed us of precious sleep and that rare trickle in our taps has not alleviated the misery of our existence. Does no one care about the common man at all?
M. Kumar, New Delhi
I personally think that your article Ranji, His Love, Life and Letters (June 3) was a waste of space on a man who did nothing to help cricket in his own country and looked down upon his countrymen, while being a ‘good servant’ to the British empire. It’s time we Indians stopped fawning on people like Ranji, V.S. Naipaul, Nirad C. Chaudhuri et al just because they did something noteworthy abroad. For most Indians, people like them do not even exist. And it’s a pity that our national trophy should be named after Ranji when people like C.K. Nayadu, Mushtaq Ali and Lala Amarnath are certainly more deserving because they stood by and for Indian cricket.
Shekhar, on e-mail
That was an interesting aside on Ranji. Living in Jamnagar and being an admirer, I feel your new insight only adds to the aura. He did all things wholeheartedly, be it cricket or state welfare, and so was it in the matters of the heart. His loyalty to his loves is especially touching considering that his highness could have got away with a harem.
Nandini Bahri, on e-mail
With all due respect to Shahrukh and Madhuri, having been an avid Hindi film watcher for the last 50 years, this one does not come anywhere close to Bimal Roy’s Devdas (Reborn Loser, June 3). Dilip Kumar played the character to perfection, a performance unparalleled in the history of Indian cinema. Shahrukh can only aspire to such greatness.
S. Munshi, Toronto
Apropos Race Day: Summer Travails (May 27), the bjp MP you quote is completely wrong in saying that Nehru refused a second term to Dr Radhakrishnan. Nehru and even his successor as prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, dies in 1964 and 1966 respectively while Dr Radhakrishnan’s term as President expired in 1967, when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister. Nehru, in fact, was not in favour of a second term for Dr Rajendra Prasad, but couldn’t help it due to the latter’s stature.
R.S. Agrawal, Nagpur
Daniel Lak is talking through his (Canadian) hat in his Toronto Diary (June 3). Canada was never a "Test cricketing nation" and probably never will be. Besides, you can’t grant Test status to a nation and then take it away. Lak is probably confused by the fact that the annual Canada vs US match was first played in 1844—the first international encounter in any sport—but never given Test status. The first Test match between Australia and England was played in Melbourne in 1877. There are currently 10 Test-playing nations. Canada and the US are certainly not among them. Try again.
Ramesh Kumar, Bangalore
As a Torontonian, I enjoyed reading Daniel Lak’s diary. Unfortunately, the "New York run by the Swiss" quotation with which he begins is misattributed. It was in fact coined by Peter Ustinov.
Christopher Rickerd, Delhi
In the middle of all the urban chaos, political greed and war clouds gathering on the horizon, your column Making a Difference provides a rare ray of hope. There is a quickening of sap, breathing new life into this wasteland of the irretrievably lost Gandhian dreams. With this regular feature, every week you make an enlightening journey into the lives of positive people who take time off from their busy work schedules to do something worthwhile. Like the efforts of the Kotagiri Wildlife and Environment Association. Especially commendable is their attempt to bring about an awareness among the very young of wrongs done to primeval forests, the cradle of evolution, and to replant, renew and perhaps make those first few tottering steps in restoring this lonely planet to its original, verdant bounty.
Chitra Amarnath, New Delhi
