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Journalism of Courage
8226; Madhu Dandavate8217;s death did not make it to the front pages. He, however, wouldn8217;t have been bothered about the media8217;s lack of interest. In spite of being in public life for almost all his life 8212; right from the independence movement 8212; he never elbowed himself into the limelight. The professor of physics was in politics more out of commitment than anything else. Although he was twice a Central minister, and a deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, he would be better identified as the face of the common man. I had one encounter with him. He had just relinquished his Railway ministry. He got into the local train at Dadar, wearing a dark navy coat, and could easily have passed off as a railway employee. He came and sat near me. It took me a while to recognise him. I introduced myself. He urged me to take some interest in social work. Can we imagine any petty politician today behaving in such an unselfconscious manner? He was a perfect exception to the rule that 8216;politics is the last resort of scoundrels8217;.
8212; Anil P. Bagarka Mumbai
Eye for an eye?
8226; While I share some concern with Saubhik Chakrabarti on the Indian state8217;s attitude to terror 8216;Terror8217;s Jeru-salem8217;, IE, November 14, I do not entirely agree on the suggested response of being outraged. There is an inherent resilience in our society, which is why Indian Hindu civilisation has survived centuries of abuse, while other ancient civilisations have perished. Violence need not be answered by violence as the Israelis have chosen to do. Gandhi8217;s famous quote, 8220;An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind8221;, is most appropriate in this regard.
8212; Arun Kumar Dubai
Blasts case
8226; Kudos to the CBI for bringing Abu Salem to India 8216;A Salem for the CBI8217;, November 14. It is proof that without political pressure and with the government8217;s co-operation, the CBI can make possible, the seemingly impossible. Abu Salem8217;s interrogation will hopefully not only prove his link with Bollywood and cricket match fixing, but also reveal important information about the other accused in the Mumbai blasts case.
8212; Bidyut K. Chatterjee Faridabad
Serious lapse
8226; The ease and dexterity with which nearly a thousand armed Maoist guerrillas carried out an attack in the Jehanabad town of Bihar, killing people and freeing prisoners 8212; betrays a serious lapse and failure on the part of administration.
8212; S.C. Kapoor Noida
Saarc strategies
8226; India at SAARC is always caught in a strange situation: how to assert authority without seeming authoritarian. The best way to achieve this is by being accommodative and initiating a consultative processes.
8212; Pranav Sachdeva New Delhi
8226; India should welcome China as a observer partner of SAARC, along with Japan, Thailand and may be others 8216;SAARC reality check: China just tore up India8217;s Monroe doctrine8217;, IE, November 14. This could be used as a vehicle to forge better trade relationships, followed by strategic relationships and integration with East Asia. Whether there is a SAARC or not, China has many ways of influencing SAARC members, so India needs to accept the ground reality and devise a strategy to best use the existing situation.
8212; Gordon Gupta London
