Sujata Rao’s article (‘Health mustn’t hinge on wealth’, IE, December 24) is excellent and it should be read by all our lawmakers who profess that they are here to serve the people. Earlier we had good municipal and government hospitals. Rajaji used to write that primary and secondary education, clean drinking water and health care were the responsibilities of the government — not trading or running hotels or toddy shops. He was dubbed a capitalist. The so-called socialist parties, in contrast, do not think that health care is the responsibility of the government. — V. Srinivasan On e-mail Some reservations • This refers to the article ‘Same caste, different benefits’ (IE, December 24). The argument put forth by Dalits for converting to Christianity is that in that religion everyone is treated as equal. That being the case, when a religion (Christianity) automatically removes caste bias, why should (Dalit) Christians want any empowerment? — Vishwanath Rao On e-mail • Dominic Emmanuel argues for reservations for Christian and Muslim Dalits. His argument is contradictory. A Dalit who converts to Christianity to escape caste inequality still wants to proclaim his caste just to get employment benefits. That is, he will then remain a Dalit in the eyes of others irrespective of his religion. B.G. Ravikumar On e-mail Nuclear haze • It is becoming evident that Pakistan’s nuclear and missile programme is not based on just the country’s defence needs (‘The nuclear axis’, IE, December 24). Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the former prime minister, had spoken of an “Islamic Bomb”. It was Pakistan’s intention to nuclearise Islamic states, as can be seen by Pakistan’s nuclear cooperation with countries like Iran and Libya. And while Pakistan is an ally of the United States, it has played a double game by assisting North Korea. Why is the US silent on Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation as well as on the Islamabad-Riyadh-Beijing axis to ‘‘contain India’’? It is troubling to note America’s silence on Pakistan’s terrorism and nuclear proliferation. The world is becoming a more and more dangerous place. When will the US accept the fact that it is in Pakistan where the danger lies to world peace? — Arvind Amin On e-mail Johar’s coup • It was shocking to know that Karan Johar’s screenplay of Kal Ho Naa Ho has been selected for a permanent place in the Oscar Academy’s library, which has a collection of over 60,000 screenplays that students can use for research or for training. One fails to understand what anyone can learn from this script. How to show a protagonist with a defective heart running on the streets and dancing? — Amjad K. Maruf Mumbai Mumbai masala •This refers to your editorial ‘Maharashtra vs Bihar’ (December 24). Does Mumbai belong to Bal Thackeray and the Shiv Sena? Shiv Sainiks targeted south Indians and Gujaratis during the 1960s. Now they are targeting Biharis. Thackeray’s provincialism and sons of the soil movement could push India towards a civil war. — Kalavati Sonkar On e-mail
