Indo-Pak links

8226; Foreign Minister Natwar Singh8217;s visit to Pakistan must result in some fo...

8226; Foreign Minister Natwar Singh8217;s visit to Pakistan must result in some forward movement on the issue of Kashmir. Enough time has lapsed since the peace process was announced. CBMs and Kashmir must feature prominently in the talks this time or else India would be in danger of giving the impression that it is actually afraid to discuss Kashmir. India, although it has emphatically pronounced that Musharraf is a man it can do business with, doesn8217;t seem to realise that time is running out for Musharraf to sustain 8216;concessions8217; in the relationship. This was evident from the tone and tenor of his speech at the UNGA meeting. New Delhi, too, has an obligation to come up with 8216;out of the box8217; solutions to the Kashmir problem.

8212; Nikhil Dhamija Baddi HP

Tell us more

8226; The CBI has raided hundreds of corrupt government officials throughout the country. This is a good sign. But will it serve the real purpose? I hope that, unlike politicians who never get punished for misusing their position, these officials do not eventually go scot free! To ensure this, shouldn8217;t ordinary citizens be told the end result of all those IT raids, for instance? How many officers were actually penalised or convicted? Should not the finance ministry publish this information on a quarterly or half yearly basis, along with data on the total amount of cash and other assets seized?

8212; Mahesh Kumar Mumbai

Governing norm

8226; Irrespective of what the Supreme Court decides in the matter of the dissolution of the Bihar assembly, disclosures made during the arguments are a direct pointer to the fact that those aligned or associated with any political party must not be allowed to pollute our Raj Bhavans.

8212; Inder Nath On e-mail

Let Mufti stay

8226; Sonia Gandhi is reportedly in a dilemma over the question of leadership change in J038;K 8216;J038;K: A tough choice for Sonia8217;, IE, Sept 27. The state Congress wants the agreement that Mufti Mohammed Sayeed will hand over the CM8217;s post to the Congress in November 2005 to be implemented. Sonia Gandhi must, however, put her foot down and allow the Mufti to stay on as the CM. After a long time, Kashmiris feel they have their own government 8212; and not New Delhi8217;s. The peace process is also at a very delicate stage. Congress has made many mistakes in the past as far as J038;K is concerned. This is an opportunity to make amends in the national interest.

8212; Pranav Sachdeva New Delhi

Go cyber

8226; Apropos of the recent debate on the school curriculum, I believe that a separate period should be allocated to computer education to move with the changing times. It is a fact that IT has gained greatly in India. So why not explore the possibility of adding computer education to the main curriculum from say, the eighth standard, if not from the fifth? Our educational authorities should give due thought to suggestions like this, even as they work towards minimising the weight burden of the school bag.

8212; C.R. Ramakrishnan On e-mail

Dim prospects

8226; Surveys and studies occasionally forecast India emerging as a superpower in the future. This, of course, is heartening news. Yet the prospects of India attaining the big league status seem remote given the prevailing lack of cohesiveness and commitment to the cause of development at the highest levels.

8212; S.C. Kapoor Noida