CM for J038;K

8226; It is true that the real tragedy of Kashmir in the past three decades has been rank misgov...

8226; It is true that the real tragedy of Kashmir in the past three decades has been rank misgovernance by Centre-backed chief ministers. Against this backdrop, the relatively corruption free administration the Mufti government provided, following the step taken by the Vajpayee government to hold free and fair elections, has come like a long awaited breath of fresh air. However, while holding no brief for Ghulam Nabi Azad, I submit that Madhu Kishwar8217;s case for the present CM8217;s continuance 8216;Mufti must remain CM8217;, IE, October 24 suffers from the following flaws. It assumes that Azad, or any other Congress CM, is unwilling/incapable of carrying on the good work initiated by the Mufti; it makes for a personality based, rather than an institutionalised, system of governance; coalition politics requires perfect trust among the partners and dishonouring the pact, with howsoever good intentions, may send a wrong signal to the Congress rank and file, as also to Congress supporters, creating an avoidable groundswell of discontent, defiance, or non-cooperation at the party8217;s grassroots; it is premised on the erroneous belief that a change in the administration might reflect a vote of 8216;no-confidence8217; in the Mufti; it seems to assume that the Mufti has achieved what he has purely on his own, without any credit to the Congress. A better course might perhaps be to adhere to the pact 8212; maybe with a little delay to allow the quake relief and rehabilitation operations to stabilise 8212; but before doing so, to make the two partners sit down, take stock of the work done so far against the backdrop of the election manifesto. Let Kashmir8217;s leaders devote itself to evolving and implementing a model of good governance and perfect inter-religious harmony, incorporating the best practices developed in other parts of the country.

8212; Rajat Kumar Narain Faridabad

Observe China

8226; This refers to your editorial, 8216;Rocket sense8217; IE, October 15. You have rightly mentioned that India should respond to China8217;s space achievements by monitoring its military activities in ballistic missiles technology and space warfare. Our department of space should pay attention to these developments.

8212; K. Venkatakrishnan New Delhi

Neighbour8217;s help

8226; It is an irony of fate that Pakistan, which initially refused India8217;s aid, had to be persuaded to reverse its stand because of the enormity of the present disaster. Both in India and Pakistan we have the custom that if a relative dies, it is the neighbours who send food for the bereaved family. Pakistan should take India8217;s aid in that spirit.

8212; H.D. Sikand New Delhi

Advice to Mirwaiz

8226; Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has chosen to give a 8216;wake up call8217; to India Inc to come forward to help the quake victims in Kashmir on either side of the LoC in this hour of tragedy. Why does he not think of issuing a call to his terrorist friends, at least in this hour of tragedy, to desist from killing innocent people in Poonch district 10 Hindus out of 11 and attacking the motorcade of Congress leaders in Pulwama?

8212; Lt Col B.S. Tyagi retd Chandigarh

Animal behaviour

8226; Hardly a day goes by without the front page of Delhi newspapers carrying stories of rapes and gang-rapes. Delhi is now being call the 8216;Rape Capital8217;. It seems that rapists have absolutely no sense of morality or religion and they have become animals. Otherwise every religion in this world teaches us that women should be respected. Guru Nanak put it this way: 8220;From woman is humanity born/And without woman none would exist8221;.

8212; Mahindar Singh New Delhi