A nation divided

This refers to Coomi Kapoor8217;s 8216;Perceptions, deceptions8217;.

8226; This refers to Coomi Kapoor8217;s 8216;Perceptions, deceptions8217;. It is true that acts of terrorism and the conclusions drawn with regard those responsible further deepen our social divisions. There will obviously be the interplay of biases or the perception of injustice and a sense of alienation within communities that think they are being victimised.

If the majority of Indians feel that the terrorists are representative of an entire community, there will be an all-out civil war in India. That would be the greatest triumph of the terrorist outfits. It is the duty of the state to see that the guilty are punished but through a fair trial alone, and yet enjoy the confidence of the aggrieved.

8212; Ashwani Sharma

Ghaziabad

Oscar gaffe

8226; Oscar Fernandes8217;s statement about the murder of a CEO in Noida was irresponsible. He may have said 8220;sorry8221; since, but it seems he is against retrenchment, a fundamental mechanism of the market. In any case, Fernandes should, in future, talk to the firms concerned first. Had he done so sincerely in this case, the murdered CEO would still be alive.

8212; M.H. Nayak Mumbai

Using the boys

8226; It is a pity that the tussle between the armed forces and the finance ministry over fixing the salaries of officers has adversely affected personnel below officer rank PBOR who are not involved in the dispute. By saying that revised pay scales will not be implemented unless anomalies in the pay scales of a few officers are corrected, the top brass is using jawans as a shield. The PBOR are rightly disgruntled at being denied their enhanced salary and arrears before Diwali.

8212; N. Kunju Delhi

Getting in the way

8226; Politicians, especially Union ministers, should make it a point to not visit hospitals in the immediate aftermath of terrorist attacks. The elaborate security arrangements and police personnel get in the way of hospital staff working under emergency conditions.

Since the ministers visit the hospitals with political motives, and since everybody knows that, they needn8217;t bother anymore. Instead, they should concentrate on governance and ensure that hospitals don8217;t need to treat blast victims.

8212; Yogesh Kumar Gupta

Delhi

They aren8217;t right

8226; The BJP should indeed sever its ties with outfits like the Bajrang Dal if it intends to prove its credentials as a responsible political party 8216;You can8217;t both be right8217; IE, September 25. Accusing the UPA government of adopting a soft approach to terror will sound utterly shallow and self-serving if the BJP cannot control violence in states run by it or one of its NDA partners. Violence in any form, and perpetrated under any pretext, is reprehensible and against the national interest. Instead of using its double-edged approach to terrorism for consolidating its own vote bank, the BJP should come out with a viable, non-partisan solution and policy alternative.

8212; Satwant Kaur

Mahilpur