MODI GOVT WIll BRING BACK CAlMER DAYS
In response to Rajesh Singh’s ‘Foreign policy mantra: Intervene, not interfere’ published on April 12:
An elaborate write-up indeed. In the case of Nepal, its citizens enjoy unique dual citizenship, and Nepal’s kings are patrons of many famous temples even now. Some stray comments on interference could have been made to tackle own internal tangles. Our local temple’s watchman is a Nepali and has learned to talk in fluent Tamil! Similarly, Sri lanka too has years old ties with us. lTTE’s Prabhakaran is said to have met Rajiv Gandhi at Delhi and it seems on his insistence an overall agreement was reached. But later happenings have erased much of history. We can very well hope that what the Modi Government is doing will bring back calmer days.
As far as Pakistan is concerned, we can’t choose our neighbours; nothing concrete must be done unless Pakistan mends its ways. We must have a policy of going in circles while creating strong world opinions on the wayward nation. — AARAAM, Bangalore
Trip down memory lane
In response to Chandan Mitra’s ‘Hallway to the past’ published on April 26:
Thanks to Chandan Mitra for taking me for a trip down my memory lane in Calcutta/Kolkata.— Janakiraman Rajalakshmi
DON’T TREAT GANDHI WITH KID GlOVES
In response to Ananya Borgohain’s ‘Bapu’s brand of love jihad’ published on April 26:
It was interesting and thought-provoking to read your interview with Makarand Paranjape on his book: The Death and Afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi. There is no dearth of biographical literature on Gandhiji, and this book is a useful addition. However, I find it sad that Indian intellectuals tend to treat Gandhi with kid gloves, not subjecting him to a rigorous clinical examination.
Gandhi’s embarrassing eccentricities, his stretching the faith in non-violence to absurd limits, praising Adolf Hitler, advising Jews to resist Nazi hordes with non-violence, even if it meant eventual extermination and accepting Palestinian overlordship rather than struggle for an independent homeland of their own, are hard to believe. Similar cases were his non-denunciation of the Moplah violence in Kerala, support for the Khilafat movement to appease the minority community and his proposal to compromise with evil, separatist forces represented by Mohd Ali Jinnah, on the eve of the Partition, offering him to head the first Government of free India! — M Ratan
Valuable lesson in astrology
In response to Bharat Bhushan’s ‘Steps to shape destiny’ published on April 26:
Wonderfully written!! I wish to share it with the student community at IIT Kanpur.— Professor Brahma
INDIA SHOUlDN’T BE OBSESSED WITH PAK
In response to Ashok Behuria’s ‘India’s Pakistan Policy: Praxis or Paralysis’ published on April 19:
India’s relations with Pakistan from the inception are based on appeasement, dialogue, and accommodation. For example, India gave away water, land, and other resources disproportionately to please lord Mountbatten and foreign donors, to please Mahatma Gandhi, to Muslim minorities with a hope to unite back Pakistan, to project Nehru’s image of peace and internationalism, to say the least, ignoring India’s strategic and regional interest. Initially, the Kashmir policy was dictated by Mountbatten, and later by foreign powers for their strategic interest.
Pakistan’s desire to have a composite dialogue with India is to wrest Kashmir from India using their jihadists as their state policy and while sending insurgents and terrorists to destabilise India, and by denying India the MFN. It was a mistake to stop war with Pakistan in 1965, 1971, and the Kargil war. It was a mistake to deal with Musharraf in his deception and double standard to solve the Kashmir problem. Pakistan can’t win Kashmir by demanding self-rule there while having the worst human rights’ violations in Baluchistan, Sindh, and FATA. It will be a mistake to deal with the Pakistan Army, undermining the Pakistan and India’s civil authorities. India shouldn’t be obsessed with Pakistan. The best way to defeat Pakistan’s dream of defeating India is to grow economically, militarily, and strengthening India’s internal harmony.— Nirode Mohanty, lA
Crucial issue discussed
In response to Uttam Kumar Sinha’s ‘Cleaning rivers, cleansing policies’ published on March 22:
The conundrum of managing rivers and simultaneously developing it is perplexing. While the author brings out the complexities, he also suggests that it isn’t insurmountable. The positivity is well appreciated. Kudos Pioneer for coming out with this issue on world water day which other newspaper hardly mentioned.— Abhaas