There’s no gainsaying the fact that democracy in our nation is "far from perfect". Incomplete electoral rolls, hijacked ballot boxes—all these are part of our everyday political vocabulary. The point is, we Indians are "honest enough to accept" these failings. To this extent, the Left-of-Bush Brain Curry Man (May 5) is correct. However, the "sunshine state" of Florida didn’t exactly cover itself in glory in the last presidential elections. Just go through Michael Moore’s The Stupid White Men or Greg Palast’s The Best Democracy That Money Can Buy. It happens in the land of liberty too, Mr Zakaria.
H. Balakrishnan, Chennai
Fareed Zakaria criticises rigging in the Bihar elections. And so concludes that Indian democracy is no good. That is fair and understandable. At the same time, he gives "high marks" to Musharraf. Does that mean the general conducted fair elections? Am I missing something here?
M. Vani, Santa Clara, US
It’s good news that Vajpayee has proposed and Pakistan has accepted the need to re-engage in dialogue (Over the Boundary at Sher-e-Kashmir, May 12). But the one thing that could vex talks yet again is the Kashmir issue. India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris have to climb down for a compromise. Till that happens, no progress will be made.
A.K. Tharien, Oddanchatram, TN
Talks will lead us nowhere. Only guns will. Answer terrorism with terrorism.
Arul Karthi, Madurai
Cliched though it may sound, it’s better late than never. Let’s hope and pray for some understanding. Enough resources have been spent on both sides in polishing the brass. Now it’s time to focus attention elsewhere.
Maqsood Choudhary, Michigan, US
It’s no use talking to terrorists. Bombing PoK is the only solution.
Rajagopala Raju, Vijaywada
Nehru made the first mistake when he took the Kashmir issue to the UN. His daughter Indira left us with a pious but infertile Simla agreement. God knows what ‘statesman’ Vajpayee hopes to achieve. Perhaps we’ll have to wait for a Modi or a Togadia to become the PM to deal with Pakistan once and for all.
Jai Shankar, New Delhi
No talks with Pakistan until it hands over Dawood Ibrahim, Maulana Masood Azhar and publicly apologises for the Bombay bomb blasts. Or else, it would seem like we have legitimised terrorism.
Govind Bhosle, Pune
I admire the courage of George Bush, who not only defied the UN but almost the entire world and attacked Iraq. He did not just talk but brought his words to action. Forget the morality or justification for the war on Iraq, what I liked about Bush was his firm conviction to do what he thought was right for his country. On the chessboard of international politics, every country thinks and acts according to its own interests. That is what America did. I only wish Atal Behari would be as bold as George Bush.
Prabhakar S. Harsole, Indore
Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri unwittingly set the tone for future meetings between our countries when he equated Palestine with Kashmir (‘US has played a very active role’). Pakistan’s claims on Kashmir, unlike with Palestine, are based on the Muslim composition of the state. The solution is in making LoC the permanent border, with the option for Kashmiris to move to or from PoK, minus the bloodshed of the previous migrations, of course.
Vijay Veerla, Bombay
Your article In War and Peace, Heal (May 5) numbed my eyes. These five young women have shown that all it takes is a little compassion to wipe someone’s tears. The cause of the riots and its aftermath were both nightmarish but they need to be put behind to build a stronger Gujarat and indeed a stronger India. The benchmark of Anandi’s altruism is not the food distributed by them or aid in raising destroyed homes but in bringing hope to the multitude of Hindus and Muslims alike in the riot-scarred state.
Sunita Singh, on e-mail
Justice Shamit Mukherjee’s is not an exceptional case (Judge Dread, May 12). In the land of Buddha and Gandhi, a new scam is unearthed everyday. It’s no surprise that a judge too is found neck-deep in slush. People sitting in high places all over the country seem to have sold their souls. And they have no fear from the law, since they are themselves the master of its clauses and the legal procedure itself moves at a snail’s pace.
Ritu Awasthi, Kanpur
The government deserves accolades for taking a tough stand on the Air-India pilots’ strike (Course Correction, May 12). What is their problem in flying to destinations that other pilots are flying to? Our pilots, at the drop of a hat, trigger a major confrontation with the management, going on strike and holding the entire nation to ransom. With the unbending stand taken by the government, I’m sure the pilots will be pruned of their grotesque pride.
E.J. Samuel, Dharwad, Karnataka
Apropos Vinod Mehta’s rather tasteless, graceless opinion (The Ugly American, May 5), one may not quite agree with Blackwill’s worldview, his right-wing ideology or his general manner. But I do expect Mr Mehta to give the devil his due. After all, what did Frank Wisner and Richard Celeste achieve? Blackwill at least championed India’s cause even if it was a case of localitis.
Anthony Francis, on e-mail
In the World Poetry Festival held in 1986, we were exposed to poetry from the Arab world. One of the poets, Dabia Khamis from Syria, was outstanding in her contempt for America. Her poem, An American Funeral, is just what all of us feel for the Yanks:
This is America
love it or quit it.
This is America
Baskets of rose flowers,
grass leaves,
And children’s faces
And atomic bombs
in the charm of the
President’s smile.
Vertul Singh, Prishtina, Kosovo
What’s up at Outlook? Last time it was Ash-bashing (Ashes to Dust, April 14) and now it’s Eve-bashing (Eves Do It Too, May 5). What is so newsy about some Indian women having relationships outside matrimony in this 21st century? Evolution would not have ended with Darwin. After all, we were apes before and nature never demanded monogamy (as long as pitfalls like aids are taken care of). It is time we broke the shackles dictated by chauvinist prophets of old and did our own thing, irrespective of sex, class, colour or communication modes. As long as we can find emotional stability, long live Adam and Eve as equals of creation. One has to acknowledge your potential to sensationalise non-issues, though.
Ravi Kumar, Secunderabad
Where else would one find an example of that forever-useful maxim, ‘The Law is an Ass’? If men can’t "satisfy" their wives so that they have to seek "solace" elsewhere, then He, not She, should be in prison.
Marck Packard, New Delhi
Socrates once said, "My advice to you is to get married. If you find a good wife, you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher." Going by your cover story, India is seemingly poised towards being the torchbearer of enlightenment in the world. Though it made entertaining reading, it lacked the back-up of a credible survey.
Ankan Ghosh, Calcutta
The following bit of poetry by an unknown 12th century Sanskrit poet would have been of more use to your readers than your sensational tale:
Virgins indulge in sex
for curiosity;
harlots for money,
widows for remembering the
good old days,
wives out of a
sense of duty
while the pure pleasure
of sex is possible
only in adultery.
Asadha Arul, Mugaiyur, Tamil Nadu
It’s like a wedding anniversary card that reads something like this: ‘Staying single is chic. Divorce is in vogue. Living together is common. And here you are, Happily Married...hmmm... Kinky!’
Tara Kaushal, on e-mail
Women on Top...and Outlook at the bottom.
M.C. Joshi, Lucknow
It doesn’t say much for us as Indians (and Keralites in particular) that it’s a dream for people to go to the Gulf where many end up in poor working conditions and are subject to job exploitation. The sad part is, it’s still a better deal than many would get in Kerala. Return of the Native (May 12) is perhaps a wake-up call to explore why Kerala can’t provide a suitable job climate.
Sajiv Alex, Indianapolis, US
In Metaphors Keen to Wound (May 5), you and historian D.N. Jha appear to be hunting for heretics to be burnt at the stake! Amazingly, Jha imagines the Vedic peoples fought their wars in hand-to-hand combat, leaving spears and swords for culinary pursuits. Later, he dates the appearance of the trishul in the Mahabharata 2,000 years after its high noon in Greek mythology. Go on, Prof Jha, say we’ve lost the swastika and the Garuda patents to the Romans. Or that pre-Christian Dutch clans upheld the colour orange much before the Hindus identified with saffron. (Cyrus Broacha can do better!) Odd calculations these, in these revisionist times when Egyptologists are in the act of predating the Sphinx and the Pyramids, thus prompting the correlative redating of other civilisations—based on weather and astrological data used in old architecture (from the Incas, Mayas, to the Angkor Vat). For the appearance of the trishul at a certain period, Jha forgets the destruction of temple architectural records by invaders. He looks at Oriental events with Semitic lens, searching for scriptural support. The piece de resistance, of course, was Swami Agnivesh’s Matrix-esque metaphors on the trishul and Lord Shiva. The savvy sadhu may have forgotten earthly existence, the biggest metaphor. He’s supposed to have renounced it. Well, Jha should too. Not likely, for the Hindu clergy does not issue bloodthirsty fatwas!
Sushil Manohar, Mumbai
