A different battle

The editorial, 8216;There won8217;t be blood8217; touches upon some human emotions. Priyanka Gandhi8217;s move to meet Nalini...

8226;The editorial, 8216;There won8217;t be blood8217; touches upon some human emotions. Priyanka Gandhi8217;s move to meet Nalini 8212; an LTTE member who was part of the group that assassinated Rajiv Gandhi 8212; was a brave effort to come to terms with the loss of her father and the violence associated with it. Whether it is blood-letting by design or hatred, we always erect barricades separating the victim8217;s kin from the victimiser. One wrestles with one8217;s soul to attain peace in this life, and it does help if those on opposite sides of the divide come together to grasp the events which shatter lives. Thus, Priyanka8217;s privacy and the very personal nature of her meeting with Nalini should be respected.

8212; John Alexander

Nagpur

Please, please him

8226;Sycophancy has been an integral part of Indian politics, and it is deeply rooted in the Congress culture 8216;Blinding Sonlight8217;. Politicians with no stature have used this tool to appease the Nehru-Gandhi family. Indeed, this tool has paid rich dividends to the mediocre while those who refuse to adopt such strategies have either lost out or been the victims of political vendetta. Arjun Singh8217;s premature projection of Rahul Gandhi as the future prime minister was impolite and unethical since the country has a rather distinguished prime minister at the moment. Besides, Manmohan Singh has a clean image and an impressive record as the man who turned the Indian economy around.

8212; Fasih Rahman

Newfoundland, Canada

Head before heart

8226; This refers to Sonia Jabbar8217;s article, 8216;Why Tibet matters8217; . We cannot exercise a selective memory when we talk of sovereignty. It might help to recall what we did to Hyderabad soon after Independence. Although the Nizam was not keen on joining the Indian Union, we used force to ensure that Hyderabad did so. History has its own way of charting out the lives of nations. This fundamental truth should be accepted. History is not a case of morality. That much-used word has been repeatedly lost in the stream of history. What is moral today becomes immoral tomorrow, and vice-versa.

To go back to the strategic question raised by Jabbar, how certain are we of what will be strategically more advantageous to India? Siding with Tibet for a few cusecs of water, thereby rubbing China the wrong way? Can we afford this at this stage of our economic growth? Besides, it should be remembered that even many Tibetans agree that Tibet is politically a part of China.

8212; Siddhartha Mukherji

Pune

Beijing8217;s call

8226;China could not have imagined that Tibet would become such a major irritant and embarrassment. The world has come to know about China8217;s high-handedness in suppressing human freedom thanks to Tibet and Darfur. China should have understood by now that it cannot continue its dictatorial approach and skirt the Tibet issue by hosting the Olympics.

8212; V.S. Ganeshan

Bangalore