For the farmer

• The CSO expects the economy to grow at 8.1 per cent this fiscal. This is bet...

• The CSO expects the economy to grow at 8.1 per cent this fiscal. This is better than was expected by the ministry of finance and RBI. But there is a picture behind this picture — agriculture is lagging behind and growing at only 2.3 per cent. This is a bit better than last year but it reflects the systematic failure of the rural sector. Farming is increasingly becoming unsustainable, a fact that is clearly reflected in the series on cotton farmers recently carried by the Indian Express. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Huge capital investment and reforms in agriculture will be needed to increase production, income and employment in this sector so as to attain the desired 10 per cent growth rate. I hope the finance minister will have good things to offer to agriculture in the upcoming budget.

— Rajesh Kumar New Delhi

Whose violence?

• At last, George W. has spoken. He condemned the violence being committed by the wounded Muslims but not the violence on the sentiments of Muslims committed repeatedly by the European media. Condoleezza Rice sees the hand of Syria and Iran in inflaming passions but supports the Danish government which did not even condemn the action of its press in inflaming passions. Rice ignores the fact that the most violent clashes have taken place not in Iran or Syria but in Afghanistan where America’s puppet government holds sway.

— Ejaz Khan New Delhi

Mirror, mirror

• Moin Khan’s article on the ‘gentleman’s game’ (IE, February 9), was interesting. It would do a lot of good to Pakistani cricket if veterans like Moin first learnt to address the brash behaviour of their own team as was displayed by Afridi and Akhtar in the recently concluded test series, for instance.

— Mrinmoy Goswami Guwahati

All in a name

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• This refers to your report ‘Buddha calls Bush names, US envoy protests,’ (IE, February 10) on the West Bengal Chief Minister’s remark against US President George W. Bush. Bush has already earned a few sobriquets like ‘Global Bully’, ‘Butcher of Baghdad’, and ‘Adolf Bush’. Perhaps Buddhadeb had these in mind when he rightly described Bush as a leader of the “most organised pack of killers.” I wish this new title too is picked up by the global media.

— K.P. Rajan Mumbai

Like schoolboys

• In the recently concluded ODI at Peshawar both Sachin and Inzamam were fined for showing dissidence against the umpire’s decisions. This shows an excessive tendency on the part of the ICC to treat international cricketers as a bunch of schoolboys. Both the individuals are icons for their performance and behaviour on and off the playing field. They were protesting against something they felt strongly about. In a sport like football you will find the players in the English Premier and European Leagues regularly contesting the referees’ and linesmen’s decisions and getting away with it, even though they sometimes use verbal abuse. We need to bring in some balance into cricket so that players are not treated like they were zombies or robots. This will also increase the viewers’ interest in the game by making it more lively.

— S. Kamat Panaji

‘Don’t give a sh*t’: JD Vance defends US airstrike on Venezuelan drug boat that killed 11

World3 hr ago

Vice President JD Vance stands by the recent US airstrike against a Venezuelan drug-smuggling boat, dismissing legalistic arguments. President Trump also supports the strike and warns others against bringing drugs into the US. The administration has designated Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, as a foreign terrorist organization and plans to use military force against them.

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