For those who had invested in Sahara, the disappearance of Subroto Roy from the scene must be very disturbing. High-profile companies totally dependent on the topmost person run risk credibility when something happens at the top. In this respect, the Tatas and Infosys are a breed apart. They are shining examples of professionally managed enterprises worthy of emulation by others.
T.N.K. Kurup, Bangalore
Rather than making a mountain out of a molehill, you’d have been better off with one of your stupid surveys that usually get published during your no-news weeks.
Afthab Ahmed, on e-mail
Longer the sickness of Saharashree, greater the agonies of the investors. His reported BP fluctuations have been causing hypertension to thousands of investors. Before taking a long break for recuperation, Saharashree must come out of oblivion and reassure investors about the safety of their monies.
P.K. Srivastava, Ghaziabad
Enticed by your cover, since we have all been wondering about the Subroto Roy mystery, I proceeded without delay to read it. I ended exactly where I started, wondering where the good man was. You indulged in as much hype as the mysterious world of Sahara and ended up with zilch.
Sunil Gupta, Mumbai
Subroto Roy’s vanishing act has certainly sent shock waves among his followers, leaving them in a virtual tizzy over the outcome of this drama. It just proves that insecurities govern our lives. To quote the Adi Shankara’s Bhaja Govindam, "Take pride in your possessions, in the people, in the youthfulness that you have. Time takes away all these in a moment."
Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad
Outlook should have waited one more week, because on June 10 itself, a national newspaper carried a clarification from Roy regarding the rumours around him. Or was it a well-planned, well-executed publicity stunt?
Rajan N. Panchal, Mumbai
Your cover makes one think about the extent corporates should be allowed to venture in the public sector. Is it not weird that one man’s absence creates havoc for millions? The government should uphold the stability and reliability of important services like banking, railways, housing, airlines, etc even if these are running in the private domain. Fraudulent hands can’t succeed without the connivance of men in power.
Dhirendra Mishra, Allahabad
Is it any wonder if the Congress-led upa government is slapping a Rs 800-crore income-tax demand notice on Sahara group because of Sahara chief Subroto Roy’s proximity to Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav? You don’t need a Rs 50,000-crore empire, just 24 MPs in Parliament to call the shots even if you yourself have swallowed hundreds of crores of public money and evaded taxes. M.C. Joshi, on e-mail
Roy levitated using the famous Indian rope trick and upgraded it to an infamous elope trick.
Rajneesh Batra, New Delhi
Looked and looked and looked, but found nothing in the cover. All speculation that’s neither here nor there.
A.V.S. Hameed, Oman
Why is Gohar Ayub Khan’s disclosure (Brigadier Whodunit, June 13), revealed as it has been after 40 years, be taken note of at all? Or why should some of our leaders say it will be looked into? Our army has done us proud and there’s no reason why we should tarnish it on the whims of a man who is only desperately trying to sell his book.
S.P. Sharma, Mumbai
What? The Pak army could not defeat us even after it got hold of our war plans!
Rohit C.J., Kochi
The media has to understand that the armed forces require a different standard of compliance from their personnel, where individual discretion is subsidiary to the organisation’s (Flight of the Dove, June 13). Anjali Gupta can’t expect to be treated any different just because she is a woman. As for Outlook, to pass judgement over something subjudice is tantamount to seeking influence over proceedings.
K. Prabhakar, on e-mail
A court-martial of the first woman officer of the iaf is no doubt captive news for the media. But being an ex-jco of the iaf, it hurt to read. To apportion blame, if any, a court of inquiry or a formal investigation has to be held first before a summary of evidence is ordered. If found guilty, the accused is served with a chargesheet on which the summary of evidence is recorded. Was such a procedure followed in Anjali Gupta’s case? An offence that’s very serious and warrants a trial by court-martial is investigated immediately after it’s committed, not after a year, as you report. Close arrest is not contemplated when the mental fitness of the accused is in doubt and a psychological evaluation needed. And you say she was under close arrest for 51 days!
Edmond Rayen, Virapandianpattinam, Tamil Nadu
It is disheartening to know that even the iaf is so corrupt. The charges levelled against Anjali Gupta are absurd. Chucking a food packet, stealing taxi money, for heaven’s sake!
Kunal Mangal, Denver, US
You actually have the temerity to label serious crimes such as dishonesty and disobedience as ‘trivial’? The media seems hellbent on discrediting the armed forces, first with tehelka, then with the Phukan episode, the Denel scoop and even believing a Pakistani’s accusation of a traitor in its midst. I suggest you ask the deity of renunciation at 10, Janpath to take over as C-in-C of the defence forces. Then she can save the country from its defence personnel just as she is saving it from the forces of communalism and disintegration.
Maj Gen S.C.N. Jatar, Pune
And these are the guys supposed to protect our country! Shame. A typical reaction by Indian males, who cannot tolerate or accept a woman who’s assertive and knows her mind.
Abraham Srinivasan, Dallas, US
Is Outlook trying to push Baburam Bhattarai (Raise the Red Lantern, June 13)? Is it acting under instructions from Comrade Karat?
Reading the article Greenhouse Pains (May 30) on how militant vegetarianism is being used as a cloak for exclusion in Mumbai, I thought the only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history. Had it been otherwise, the learned judges who unsuspectingly rule in favour of "the right to share space with like-minded people" would have probably struck down this outrageous dissimulation as darkly reminiscent of such gross horrors as apartheid, manuvaad, the Final Solution, etc. The author of the last was one Adolf Hitler who was a strict adherent of vegetarianism and looked down upon meat-eating mortals as "carrion-eaters".
Vivek L. Dev, Mumbai
Your story Chandni Barred (June 6) exposes the stark contrast in the Indian techie who is a dedicated, relentless professional by day and a typical aiyaash at night. And worry not. Bars will continue to peddle the Chandni ‘product’ with the supporting truce of the cops, the mafia and possibly the bureaucrats. The current restrictions are nothing but a political gimmick that will wane away in a matter of months to keep the show going on.
Puneet Bansal, Bhiwadi, Rajasthan
It is Pratap Bhanu Mehta who is blind to a lot of issues, not Arun Shourie who he maligns (Books, June 6). While it is good to advocate moderation, it’s criminal to overlook what is afoot in our Islamic neighbourhood. Anyone who has lived in Guwahati even for a year will see the proliferation of Bangladeshi people there. Anyone who speaks with the bsf officers on the Indo-Bangla border will understand that it is the bdr which is encouraging the Bangladeshi infiltration into India. If Pratap Bhanu Mehta has the patience to read the online versions of Assamese newspapers, he wouldn’t paint Shourie as a misanthropist.
Vishwanath Rao, Bangalore
How could you give three stars to the absolute drivel that is masquerading as the film Bunty aur Babli (June 6)? Did it have something to do with this one scene with the Big B where a copy of your magazine is displayed prominently on the table? A sort of you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours syndrome?
Tathagata Bose, Hyderabad
What’s wrong with Outlook? Is there some film-fixing on? Maybe we could get Messrs Tarun Tejpal and Aniruddha Bahal to give up their fiction-writing desires and pursue this strange Bollywood-Outlook nexus. Or maybe Vinod Mehta could resuscitate his career as the half-film critic, watch bab till the interval and write a review himself.
Anil Chakradhar, Hyderabad
I subscribe to Outlook regularly and do believe it to be one of India’s foremost magazines. Which is why I was shocked to see that you got something as simple as the recipe for a drink wrong (Details, June 13). Being a regular drinker of the Cosmopolitan cocktail, I can tell you it has no vermouth, bourbon or bitters. It might have a few cherries but that’s it. A Cosmopolitan is made of two parts vodka, 1 part cranberry juice, one part lime juice and a dash of cointreau. What you have detailed is a Manhattan.
Reshma Krishnan, New Delhi
Outlook: We stand corrected: 2 parts contrition, 1 part embarrassment and a dash of shame.
The shameful doping scandal involving our weightlifters at Athens completely overshadowed Major Rathore’s achievement (Gameplan: Play It Safe, Jun 13). Now, more than a year on, we still have no concrete anti-doping programme in place. To spare further damage to our already battered image in the international arena, it might be a good idea not to send our athletes to any major sports meets till we have a foolproof anti-doping programme up and running.
Eashan Ghosh, Noida
The picture of ina veteran Lakshmi Indira Panda washing utensils (Heroes in Search of a Plaque, June 6) should be an embarrassment to us and the nation. Why don’t we realise that we are what we are today because of the sacrifices of people like her? To think, she’s getting Rs 700 as pension in this era of liberalisation!
Debi Prasad Sarangi, Dhenkanal, Orissa
