More than the act of terror itself, it’s the involvement of highly qualified professionals that is shocking in the case of the Glasgow bombings (The Virus In the System, Jul 23). What can be more disturbing than when education fails to put the youth on the path to enlightenment—and, contrarily, makes them pawns in a war on humanity?
Pachu Menon, Margao
It’s time we stopped seeking refuge in words like religious prejudice and racial profiling. Call a terrorist a terrorist.
Sivaram Srikandath, Kochi
We needn’t get overly worried about the Glasgow bombers being Indians and Muslims. Terrorism has no nationality or religion. It warrants a fightback at the global level.
Aniket Singh, Mohali
The Bangalore brothers prove that migrant Indians groomed in Islamic nations are vulnerable to the creed of terror. And you don’t need madrassas for their indoctrination—half-educated preachers and shrewd politicians do the orchestration even more viciously.
K.S.C. Nair, Indianapolis
Wahabism is based on archaic Arabic culture. Why should today’s Muslim take it as the plank for puritanism?
T. Sathyamurthi, Folsom, US
The Western countries do not have to pander to a Muslim votebank; so they are very tough with terrorism. In India, we have a PM who loses his sleep over suspected terrorists, not real victims.
Ajay K. Ajmani, New Delhi
I used to be proud of this word ‘Bangalored’. That’s until I read your piece, The Low Lives Of Our Hi-tech City.
Chidanand Kumar, Bangalore
One cannot but remember the criticism you heaped on the nda government when it banned the simi (Forking Paths Of Faith). Muster up courage to own up to a change of heart.
Maj Gen S.C.N. Jatar, Pune
I believe that a majority of Muslims lead a simple, peace-loving life (The Curse Is Back). Yet, when it comes to my native city, I’d say Bangalore has its share of Islamist fundamentalists—they are more rabid than any other south Indian city. It’s vital for leaders to correct them before things get out of hand.
Prakash, San Francisco
I’ve met three Muslims from outside the Indian subcontinent. And all of them are anti-India on issues like Partition, Kashmir and Ayodhya!
Varun Shekhar, Toronto
All this debate is meaningless. For, Muslims in the UK don’t want to assimilate with the mainstream—nor do the Brits want to include them.
Dipak Bose, Calcutta
Muslim leaders in the Deccan should ideally lead the nation in removing the latest cancer—the role of doctors as killers (Bleeding Downwards). Hope it would be nipped in the bud.
Tarun Ghosh, New Jersey
The segment settled in the UK isn’t the best sociological sample of migrant Indian Muslims (Choked By The Margins). For that, you’ve to look at the Gulf. From there, they’re rarely reported to be involved in terror.
Vinod, Bangalore
With his successful Operation Silence, the near-monolithic Pervez Musharraf has silenced all those who were accusing him of being soft on Islamic hardliners (The Noise of Silence, Jul 23). The way he handled the situation showed both his military and executive acumen, as also his astuteness and capacity for opportunism. Contrast it with our very own Operation Bluestar and see where Musharraf got it right and we didn’t. Bluestar was conducted in secrecy and thus created doubts in the mind of the general public whereas the Pak army ensured media briefings at regular intervals. Which is why talk still persists of pilgrims having died in the 1984 military assault on Golden Temple. So Bluestar is considered a negative and regressive step in Indian history, while Operation Silence will be seen as a show of strength and state power against militants.
Jaspreet S. Oberoi, Patiala
This is what happens when the state and political parties encourage jehadists and allow them to preach an ideology of hate and violence.
M.M. Gurbaxani, Bangalore
Going by Maj Gen (retd) V.K. Singh’s logic, he is as guilty of violating the Official Secrets Act as the government is of having passed on information that raw had (Treason or Diplomacy?, Jul 23).
Rajeev, Delhi
Prakash Karat should explain what his own economic policies are rather than criticise others (‘We’re talking to TDP and SP about the Third Alternative’, Jul 23). Indian Communists are incapable of learning even from the Chinese, let alone others. Bureaucratic socialism (as in the former ussr) and bureaucratic monopolistic capitalism (India) both failed; it was the Chinese who finessed their strategies most superbly. In India, the Communists produced many leaders of personal integrity compared to the Congress, but most of such leaders are gone, and reputation alone won’t stand them in good stead in a globalised, and hence, competitive capitalist framework. Since both the socialist and the capitalist models failed, there was scope for a middle way, but the Indian Communists failed to rise to the challenge. Incapable of such a historic role, they proved to be neither revolutionary nor evolutionary—just static and stagnant, and out of touch.
Ashoka, Chicago, US
Indian Communists have no agenda but to protest about everything. The Left backed out when Jyoti Basu had a chance of becoming the prime minister in 1996. Now it wants to align with the tdp and form a third alternative whose economic policies would be different from the Congress or bjp. But how different are the tdp’s economic policies from these two? In an interview with Karan Thapar last month, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya underlined the irrelevance of the Left when he said Prabhat Patnaik’s policies were "academic" and not "practical".
T. Narendra, Greenville, US
Karat in his interview says the Left insisted on a politician for the post of the president but has no such criterion for the vice president. Does the Left base its policies on its immediate political exigencies or on some fixed principles? Since there are occasions when the vice-president has to stand in for the president, shouldn’t the criteria for the selection of the two be similar?
R.N. Kohli, New Delhi
As a resident of the UK and a frequent air traveller throughout Europe and often to the US because of my academic interests, I have had experiences of the sort Mahesh Peri speaks of (New York Diary, Jul 23), both at British and US airports. If such treatment was meted out to all passengers or to a select few, it would be fine, but why is it always me? It does not matter much on occasional travel, but in a busy schedule, it is difficult to keep aside 30-45 minutes just in case you are subjected to extra security check. It does not matter to the securitymen which country or religious faith you belong to; it’s only your appearance that counts. I fully support the security measures that need to be in place, but most of the times, they go over the top.
M. Banerjee, Manchester
Mahesh Peri has my sympathies. However, I believe his surmises are incorrect. I am an Indian, South Asian, I believe as Peri would call me. And not merely of Indian descent, but a true-blooded, passport-carrying bona fide Indian who lives in the US. I have travelled countless times, within the US and to India. I have never been picked for special screening except in the post-9/11 days when almost every 10th person was subjected to special searches. This has also been the case with most of my Indian friends. On the other hand, my boss, who is an American white lady who travels far more extensively than I do, was getting pulled out for extra screening each time she had to go anywhere. Incidentally, I volunteered to write to the Transport Security Authority (TSA) to find out what was happening and if her name was on some kind of special database for high-risk individuals. Surprisingly, I did get a reply from TSA which courteously informed me that it maintained no such database. I found that hard to believe, but my boss has not been subjected to the extra searches ever since. In general, American systems are fair (or unfair) to all concerned. Obviously, there is a huge bureaucracy that underlies it all and much of it is conducted via rules fed in computers. But all the safeguards are well worth the efforts, despite the perception of high-handedness and profiling occasionally. I think the skies are safer in America and for much of world travel because of that. Contrast that with what we have in India. One is humiliated by every other person sitting behind a desk, whether representing a private company or a government agency. Even if the person is courteous, the system he is representing is callous and uncaring. Mr Peri would be advised not to get his dander up for imagined offences. If he does not want to take his son abroad, he should find a better excuse.
Hemant Shah, Arcadia, US
"Does the policy of arming themselves to the teeth, this paranoia, make them feel safer?" Yes, Mr Peri, it does make them feel safer, as it rightly should. As it would any other country too. Let’s say your house got robbed of some very valuable belongings. Wouldn’t you do all that you can to ensure this never happens again? Or will the bleeding-heart liberal in you say, oh never mind, I must have done something that made someone want to rob me of all my hard-earned money, so let’s just all hold hands and sing Kumbayah till this happens again?
Francis Anthony, Hyderabad
Welcome to the real world. Just because India can’t be bothered to do anything about terrorism, apart from the PM claiming some sleepless nights at the detention of an alleged terrorist, doesn’t mean others will not.
Raj Shah, New Jersey, US
Apropos your cover story Dakshin Rising (Jul 16), as a Malayalee who left Kerala for the north when aged 17, I can unhesitatingly say that socially and morally, Kerala is incorrigible. The writer, after what seems to be only a short visit to the state, has tried to distort the actual reality there. Given Kerala’s all-pervasive social degradation, including high-profile corruption, it is high time people stopped using the undeserved encomium ‘God’s Own Country’.
C.D. Aniyankunju, Jaipur
It’s surprising how people are realising only now that the south is rising, although it has been a decades-long process. The two industries which have made this possible are the IT and auto industries. In Chennai and its satellite towns, the auto and auto components industry produces all major critical components of an automobile, whereas other Indian states contribute not even 10 per cent. Even in IT, the south is riding high, with Hyderabad running neck to neck with Chennai, Bangalore and Pune. In sport too, particularly cricket, there was a time when half the Indian team used to hail from Karnataka.
G.S. Rao, Kolhapur
Being a true ‘northy-south Indian’, I was pleased to read about southern cities offering a better quality of life compared to metros of the north; an apt survey on south India becoming the next global knowledge hub, and finally the topographical/geographical features leading to the Deccan’s advancement. But that pleasure was shattered to pieces after I read the next issue on terrorism in the south! Was it not impulsive of Outlook to publish such contradictory issues in succession?
Geetika Berry, on e-mail
In recent issues, I have been outraged by Outlook’s craftless and artless cover designs. Unlike the lofty Mr Mehta, we mere mortals judge a book by its cover. Outlook was a good magazine to behold before you turned its pages inside until a few years ago. It looked important, intelligent, and very so often, sassy and inventive. No longer so. The covers show little style or intelligence. As a graphic designer, I realise that magazines need to be designed in a manner where the pictures tell it all, the font gives the reader a wake-up call and is interesting enough to hook the reader. Outlook thinks all its readers are morons, or perhaps it thinks like one too? Its covers are pathetically obvious, with a collage of photos, screaming long headlines, often with syntax errors, a hotchpotch of pictures, thoughts. Designs of a confused edit table or what? Think a little and look intelligent. The only person who seems to like your covers is the missus back home. Good quality paper to line my oil can trays, she says.
Gopal Addagadu, New Jersey
Hats off to Outlook for churning out one myth after another at such furious speed (Internal Ignition, Jul 23). Arun Jaitley, the story maintained, was a dissident and now ‘reluctantly walked over’ to Advani’s camp. And the media was full of news about Jaitley launching a website that sought to expose Pratibha Patil.
B.V. Shenoy, Bangalore
The BJP’s approach to the presidential election speaks volumes about the myopic leadership it suffers from. With less than pass marks from voters, how do they bank on the strategic skills of B.S. Shekhawat? Its senile leaders also prefer a mudslinging campaign, perhaps at L.K. Advani’s behest. This is not only counter-productive, but may be disastrous for all pro-Hindu forces. The best option was to support Shivraj Patil, who isn’t averse to pro-Hindu ideology. The bjp’s gain from this fiasco is a big zero.
Pannalal Nawalkha, Jaipur
After being elected president, Pratibha Patil should announce that she won’t be available for a second term. She also should advise a legislation for only one term for the president of India.
Mokhi Amir Ali, Mumbai
A contest is necessary for a functioning democracy. But the bjp’s adoption of a malicious smear campaign is unacceptable. Hope the dignity accorded to the office of the president is respected.
Ravia Gupta, Bangalore
Vinod Mehta’s editorial Tainted Ethos (Jul 16) is appreciable. The media, especially electronic, behaved irresponsibly from the very day Pratibha Patil’s name was announced by the upa. Views that she was tainted were aired without even checking the facts behind the allegations. Every TV news channel danced to the bjp’s tunes.
Kanwal Nain Singh, Mohali
Mr Mehta, sometime back in your diary you had professed reluctance about revealing your canine Editor’s breed, since you had found him in a roadside ditch. Why not call him a ‘Roadesian’?
Rajeshwari Singh, Delhi
Since when does Outlook need to publish the opinion of a Bina Ramani on women’s rights (Naked Among Wolves, Jul 23))? Fighting for one’s rights does not mean losing one’s dignity and stripping in the middle of the road. Pooja should grow up, get a job and a life and fight for her just rights for herself and her daughter like thousands of women in India today, rather than staging stunts which get one in the papers and in the eyes of socialites like the Ramanis; maybe they can offer you a job in their next illegal bar!
Nivedita Barthakur, London
I have always advocated Outlook as a magazine that calls a spade a spade. However, after reading Bina Ramani’s piece, this reputation has taken a significant knock.
Sandeep Banerjee, Bangalore
