Issue is FDI

8226; Shekhar Gupta's 8216;It8217;s politics, stupid8217; IE, February 5, highlights the con...

8226; Shekhar Gupta8217;s 8216;It8217;s politics, stupid8217; IE, February 5, highlights the contradictions and compulsions of the UPA as it addresses the need to bring in more funds to achieve teledensity targets. But what this article and 8216;On Telecom, don8217;t look Left8217; IE, February 5 misses out is what bothers lakhs of telecom workers 8212; whether this step affects their jobs. Will infusion of FDI mean retrenchment of workers?

8212; Salil Gupta New Delhi

Strange decision

8226; This refers to your editorial 8216;Fortress India8217; IE, February 5. The postponement of SAARC, scheduled to be held in Dhaka, because of India8217;s refusal to attend, exposes the typical knee jerk fashion in which our foreign service mandarins go about their business. By showing the Bangladesh security situation to be poor, we have damaged whatever goodwill that had remained in that country for India. The action can be termed as foolish at best and hamhanded at worst.

8212; R. Ravi Kumar New Delhi

8226; I disagree with your editorial. The breakthrough in regional relationships needs more that just meeting at SAARC. Bangladeshi politicians must be told that they cannot continue to take anti-India postures. In any case, SAARC at this point is a waste of time and effort.

8212; G.V. Sinha On e-mail

Only cricket

8226; Harsha Bhogle asks in 8216;Two of a kind8217; IE, February 4: 8220;Narain Karthikeyan. Sania Mirza. Rajyavardhan Rathore. Anju George. Pankaj Advani. Dilip Tirkey. Are these signs that India is at last moving out of a one-sport syndrome? Or are these fine individuals who have flown above a decadent system?8221; At every stage in Indian sport, we could have asked the same question. Why not Michael Ferreira, Prakash Padukone, P.T. Usha, Mohammed Shahid and Vijay Amritraj? Or for that matter, Why not Geet Sethi, Leander Paes, Shiny Wilson, Zafar Iqbal, Khazan Singh? Indian sport will keep throwing up talent in non-cricket events too. But cricket will remain numero uno and others will have to be satisfied with the crumbs.

8212; Rohit Mohan Delhi

Truth will out

8226; According to media reports, Vithalbhai Pandya, the father of former Gujarat Minister Haren Pandya, who was assassinated in Ahmedabad, has clearly spoken to the Nanavati Commission of Modi8217;s involvement in the communal riots of 2002. A few days ago, Vajpayee also told a TV channel that his party workers were involved in the riots in Gujarat. The facts will be revealed slowly but surely.

8212; Divyesh Raythatha On e-mail

Good cops

8226; I refer to your story IE, February 5, 8216;Cops surround Naxal leaders, told to return.8217; In a democracy, the civilian government has the final say and the military and security forces should obey them. The Grey Hound commandos deserve commendation on several counts. Firstly, their intelligence and operation appear to be so good that they were able to surround the top Naxalite leaders. Secondly, they did not succumb to the temptation of rushing and killing the leaders in an encounter. They brought a lot of credibility and professionalism to their work. Finally, they obeyed the civilian government and receded.

8212; Som Karamchetty Columbia