Collective bloodlust

The media has consistently failed to highlight that Afzal Guru was convicted and sentenced not for masterminding or executing the attack...

8226;The media has consistently failed to highlight that Afzal Guru was convicted and sentenced not for masterminding or executing the attack but as just a conspirator 8216;Patil hangs govt between Afzal Guru and Sarabjit,8217;. The Supreme Court admitted that there was no direct evidence that linked Afzal to the crime, but awarded the death sentence, believing that only this would 8220;assuage the collective conscience of the nation8221;. The collective conscience that periodically bays for the blood of this man is shaped by the messages it absorbs from the media.

8212; Sonia Jabbar

New Delhi

Soft on terror

8226;Shivraj Patil8217;s statement, drawing a parallel between Afzal Guru and Sarabjit Singh, was irresponsible and shocking. Afzal Guru is an Indian national, convicted and sentenced to death under Indian law for his alleged link to the attack on the seat of Indian democracy. Sarabjit Singh is an Indian national, sentenced to death by Pakistan for alleged involvement in blasts in Pakistan. Throughout his trial, Sarabjit was wrongly identified. Moreover, Sarabjit8217;s family and friends, and most importantly, Pakistan8217;s former human rights minister, Ansar Burney, has said that Sarabjit8217;s appears to be a case of mistaken identity.

There is absolutely no similarity between the two cases, and even the Pakistan government hasn8217;t taken the stand our home minister has. The government has been sitting on Afzal Guru8217;s mercy petition for long. Patil8217;s statement reveals that the UPA doesn8217;t intend to carry out the Supreme Court8217;s verdict. If any proof of the UPA being soft on terror was required, Patil8217;s statement has provided it.

8212; M.C. Joshi

Lucknow

Peace pipe

8226;The ongoing peace talks between India and Pakistan have generated more expectations than concrete results. It8217;s evident that the Pakistani leadership is engaging India at the diplomatic level but continues to bleed it dry. It hopes that a weak India will finally give up its claim on Kashmir and also lose its pre-eminent position in South Asia. Meanwhile, Indian expectations of normalcy with Pakistan are based on a false premise that a democratic, united and economically vibrant Pakistan would allow economic and cultural engagements between the two countries and thus take the focus off Kashmir and terrorism.

8212; Amit Pradhan

Baroda

Salad days

8226; If I ever chuckled, from the first line to the last, it was on reading Gopinath Mavinkurve8217;s 8216;Middle man8217;.The middle of a middle-aged man does have much to do with food, especially gulab-jamuns or rosogollas, if you like Bengali sweets. But there is a simpler way out 8212; begin with a plate full of salad and end your meal with more salad, eating only salad through it. If you fill your stomach with salads alone, neither will you yield to temptation nor will you sport a paunch.

8212; Parimal Y. Mehta

Mumbai