Cauvery conundrum

I was born and educated in Tamil Nadu and worked long years in Karnataka. Consequently, I am a well-wisher of both the states....

I was born and educated in Tamil Nadu and worked long years in Karnataka. Consequently, I am a well-wisher of both the states. Politicians and tribunals have failed to resolve the Cauvery water-sharing issue even after labouring on it for several years and the need of the hour, therefore, is to develop a rapport among the people in general and farmers in particular of the river basin and strengthen the spirit of mutual understanding and sympathy (‘High watermark’, IE, June 19). The refusal of the Tamil Nadu chief minister to go and meet her counterpart in Bangalore personally to resolve the issue is inexcusable. The matter cannot be allowed to rest with Karnataka releasing 4.5 tmc ft from the Kabini, made possible by the timely intervention of ‘nature’ in the form of a bountiful rainfall in the catchment areas of the river. That the prime minister had spoken earlier to the Karnataka CM, urging the release of water reminds me of a saying in Tamil which, translated roughly, reads: The crow flew and sat on the palm tree and the (ripe) fruit fell down.

—Kangayam R. Rangaswamy On e-mail

Marriage rules

• This refers to the thought-provoking and educative article, ‘Ban the triple talaq…’ (IE. June 17) by Asghar Ali Engineer. He has narrated a case of a flimsy divorce by a Muslim man in Bihar and that of orthodox Muslims in Kerala threatening to agitate if women are allowed to pray in the mosques on Fridays. There was the recent case of an inebriated man in Orissa divorcing his wife in a fit of drunken stupor and then changing his mind thereafter. In this case, although the husband and wife want to live together, the relatives and maulvis are not allowing them to do so. Unless the Uniform Civil Code is followed and the registration of marriages made compulsory, such disputes will continue.

—B.S. Ganesh Bangalore

Private property?

• Apropos of the editorial, ‘Don’t bank on banks’ (IE, June 21), Indira Gandhi when she became the prime minister, nationalised banks and then used them as the private property of the Congress/government. The result was an increase in non-performing assets. The mindset of the Congress has not changed. Loan melas have not been announced yet, but we can expect something of the kind in the budget. Let us pray for good sense to prevail and that the FM will make separate provision without banking on the banks’ money.

—P.C. Gupta On e-mail

Quite right

Story continues below this ad

• From Day One of assuming the US presidency, George W. Bush had plans to attack Iraq (‘Fahrenheit 9/11’, IE, June 19). All his energy was devoted to creating, rightly or wrongly, propaganda against Saddam Hussein. You are absolutely right, the manner in which America deploys its power in combination with its foreign polices and in pursuit of its interests are now in question. Iraq will indeed test the depth of “American values”.

—Arvind Amin On e-mail

Pervez’s bluff

• G. Parthasarathy’s ‘Enemy in the ranks’ (IE, June 22) shows that Pervez Musharraf is living on the edge. Soon the bluff will be called on his balancing act to please both the Americans and the Taliban. It is surprising, though, how the Americans have not yet realised this ploy.

—V.P. Damodar Pune

Day after PM Modi’s visit to the town, Manipur’s Churachandpur sees violent protest

India6 hr ago

Protests in Manipur's Churachandpur turned violent as two men were arrested for damaging decorations for PM Modi's visit. The crowd demanded their release and attempted to storm the police station. The men were eventually released after a bail hearing. The incident occurred after a clash between locals and police on Thursday, but the situation had calmed down before Saturday's visit.

View all shorts

Live Blog