Bowling Sachin out

On a lighter note, perhaps Dravid should gift his six runs that he had scored to Sachin so that his double century is complete!

— Amjad K. Maruf Mumbai

Congress decline

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• The BJP President Venkaiah Naidu had predicted that with the 2004 elections, the Congress would be wiped out of the Indian political map. He also foresees the BJP getting over 300 seats. Assuming that both the forecasts come true, the Congress getting wiped out is of greater significance to the nation than BJP
coming to power with three hundred seats.
Parliamentary democracy ideally visualises a two-party system a ruling party and an opposition. The Congress rule demonstrated the pitfalls of giving absolute power to one party. The outcome cannot be different in the case of the BJP. The BJP subscribes to the theory of equating nationalism with the majority religion. This makes it all the more necessary that an alternative is available to the people. A pan-Indian alternative can only be given by the Congress. Its disintegration, if it occurs, will be a blow to the democratic system, as it will deprive the people of a choice at the national level.

• Apropos of ‘Democracy: Dialogue or mime?’ by Supriya RoyChowdhury (IE, March 9), one would get the impression that only politicians can create a
debate. Surely the specialists have a more important role in this? Yes, in the ultimate analysis, it is the politicians who have to legislate so that sensible policies are put in practice. I think the problem in our country is that those who occupy the intellectual space have failed in their duty to come out with well thought out policy recommendations. I also think that they let their own political ideology come into play and queered the pitch.

• With more than 100 crore, ours is the biggest democracy of the world. Here I would like to appeal to the political bosses to include in their manifesto their concern for the ever-increasing population of the country. Ours is a pluralistic set up that demands social upliftment, irrespective of religion, caste, colour and region. There appears to be a wide gap between the haves and have-nots that needs to be bridged through proactive measures that could include legislation restricting the size of the family.
— C.P. Chinda New Delhi

• Rahul Dravid’s decision to declare the Indian innings with Sachin Tendulkar just six short of his double century was a senseless one. Certainly this incident showed the lack of communication between the players and the captain. During the drinks interval, Dravid certainly could have sent the message to Tendulkar to complete his double century in two or three overs so that he could go in for a declaration thereafter but Dravid chose to declare in a haste, leaving Sachin shocked.

• The BJP President Venkaiah Naidu had predicted that with the 2004 elections, the Congress would be wiped out of the Indian political map. He also foresees the BJP getting over 300 seats. Assuming that both the forecasts come true, the Congress getting wiped out is of greater significance to the nation than BJP
coming to power with three hundred seats.

• Apropos of ‘Democracy: Dialogue or mime?’ by Supriya RoyChowdhury (IE, March 9), one would get the impression that only politicians can create a
debate. Surely the specialists have a more important role in this? Yes, in the ultimate analysis, it is the politicians who have to legislate so that sensible policies are put in practice. I think the problem in our country is that those who occupy the intellectual space have failed in their duty to come out with well thought out policy recommendations. I also think that they let their own political ideology come into play and queered the pitch.

• With more than 100 crore, ours is the biggest democracy of the world. Here I would like to appeal to the political bosses to include in their manifesto their concern for the ever-increasing population of the country. Ours is a pluralistic set up that demands social upliftment, irrespective of religion, caste, colour and region. There appears to be a wide gap between the haves and have-nots that needs to be bridged through proactive measures that could include legislation restricting the size of the family.

— C.P. Chinda New Delhi