It takes two

Once again the world has witnessed the annual tamasha that India and Pakistan indulge in at the United Nations 8216;India, P...

Once again the world has witnessed the annual tamasha that India and Pakistan indulge in at the United Nations 8216;India, Pak: Mudwrestling freestyle8217;, IE, September 27. While we accuse Pakistan of following an India-centric foreign policy, it is time for our political and foreign policy spin doctors to realise that answering each and every insult that Pakistan hurls at us is
counterproductive.

What are we trying to show the world? We are showing that we consider Pakistan so important in our worldview that we are hyper-sensitive to everything its leaders say. Our officials show- er scorn on Pakistan8217;s attempt to compare itself with India, pointing out that India is way ahead in every respect. However, I wonder if they realise that because of this habit of responding to each and every thing Pakistan utters, we are equating ourselves with Pakistan.

We seek great power status and a permanent seat on the Security Council, yet we cannot show the maturity of ignoring Pakistani insults. Pakistan8217;s very shrewd president realises this and baits us.
8212; Indrani Roy Choudhury, On e-mail

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf8217;s address to the UN General Assembly remained largely ignored in the West, where he is seen as a useful dictator who can prevent Pakistan from becoming a failed state.
8212; Arvind Sundaramurthy, On e-mail

Cancun cantos

Cancun is a victory for Al-Qaeda8217; by Thomas Friedman is so simplistic that it makes one laugh IE, September 26. Terrorism is not just about economics, it depends on a number of factors.

For example, in Kashmir it is to a large extent fuelled and supported by Pakistan as part of its India policy. In Palestine it is a response to the heavy-handed military policy of Israel. In Afghanistan it is organised by remnants of the Taliban who wish to regain power in the country.

As for the issue of reducing subsidies to benefit all 144 developing countries, it is just not possible. Certainly, some developing countries will benefit, but these are likely to be the ones which are better off among the developing countries and who can take advantage of such opportunities.

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The problem is that the WTO process does not appear to offer any benefit to the least developed countries.
8212; Subhash Mittal, On e-mail

Thomas Friedman rightly shows the effect of the failure at Cancun on terrorism. Unfortunately, the current US administration does not have the requisite attention span to comprehend the long-term effects of poverty on violence.
8212; Kirit Desai, On e-mail

In his own orbit

K. Karunakaran is all set for war with A.K. Antony 8216;Why no ayurvedic oil can make Cong bend back to please the two8217;, IE, September 25. His highhandedness can be gauged from the fact that he now does not even listen to the party high command.
8212; Suresh Nellikode, On e-mail

Snip, snip

It is outrageous that Indian movie makers are being 8216;8216;advised8217;8217; to cut films to western tastes 8216;IFFI tells Indian entries: go edit8217;, IE, September 26. What is being advised? That the Indian movie industry become a client colony of Hollywood!
8212; Michael Wright, On e-mail