Beslan bestiality

• We are at a complete loss for words to express our feelings of shock, horror and outrage at the barbaric ...

• We are at a complete loss for words to express our feelings of shock, horror and outrage at the barbaric and heinous massacre of young children, along with other innocents in a school at Beslan, Russia. Traumatised as we feel looking at the pictures of those tender lives snuffed out so brutally, we can well imagine the grief of mothers, fathers, siblings and other fellow Russians. We have no words but our hearts go out to all of them at this gut-wrenching moment. Some reports suggest that this bloodbath could have been caused by some misadventure or miscalculation on the part of the Chechen rebels or Russian rescue troops. But that cannot take away from the fact that the Chechen rebels and their accomplices alone are responsible for having held hundreds of schoolchildren, parents and teachers as hostages. We unequivocally denounce the targeting of innocents at any time, anywhere, by any organisation, irrespective of how justified they think their cause may be. Only a few days ago, our relief at the release of Indians held hostages in Iraq was mixed with indignation at the killing of young Nepali men who were also held as hostages. Those responsible for this massacre are guilty of a crime against humanity and must be condemned by peace-loving and justice-minded people across the globe. Muslim organisations and individuals must be at the forefront of this initiative. Islam forbids categorically the taking of even a single innocent life and prohibits the targeting not only of civilians but also their property, even in times of war.

— Javed Akhtar, president, Muslims for Secular Democracy, Mumbai

• Murdering innocents is what the so-called jehadis do. The world should forget its humanity and crush these fanatics and their supporters for ever. May the soul of all the innocent children and teachers rest in peace.

— Rahul Mundra Jamnagar

Team India Dimming?

• Apropos of Harsha Bhogle’s comment, ‘India, going down, meet England, going up’ (IE, September 3), the last one-day games India has played makes one wonder if it was the same team that played in ’02-’03. Playing seven batsmen may appear reassuring on paper but it often becomes a story of “everybody-anybody-nobody”. Those in the top five — Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman— have consistently failed to dominate with the bat. They occupy the crease but don’t produce enough runs — certainly not at the rate expected from them. This has had a knock-on effect on those who follow. Yuvraj, Kaif, and Gavaskar who find themselves under great pressure.

— Kishor A. Choudhari Belfast

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• Watching cricket brings back the same frustrating feeling once again. Maybe the days of India Shining magic is gone. Our men in blue are playing unprofessionally. The incident at the Oval between Laxman and Ganguly would have shamed a school level team. The Very Very Still Laxman is simply not moving, be it while batting or fielding. He is no doubt a very very special batsman with amazing timing and superb skills, but it seems he is not working on the other aspects of the game.
One-day cricket needs players who are good at all departments of the game. We want to see our team regain its lost glory. We was to see Team India shining again.

— S.D. Kar Cuttack

• Rahul Dravid is like a race horse which pulls not only the rider down but also digs a pit to bury itself in. He is idealised by adjectives such as ‘Wall’ and ‘Rock’, but today he no longer deserves to be so celebrated.

— Somanathan Chennai

Though the EC’s media invitation did not specify the subject, officials said the briefing would pertain to the SIR schedule. (File)

EC to announce dates for nationwide Special Intensive Revision tomorrow

India15 min ago

The EC will announce the schedule for the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in multiple states, including Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, on Monday. The exercise, which hasn't been conducted in two decades, aims to update the rolls and eliminate duplicate entries and foreign nationals.

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