Leap of hope

That's a great article by Norris Pritam (‘Day after the Great Indian Leap, Anju has a story to tell’, IE, September 1). It touches...

That’s a great article by Norris Pritam (‘Day after the Great Indian Leap, Anju has a story to tell’, IE, September 1). It touches the human side of this most incredible achievement for Indian athletics, and at the same time highlights the apathy of the sports authorities.
— Jaikishan Desai, On e-mail

I salute Anju Bobby George for her one big (6.70 m) leap. It was not only her bronze at the World Athletics Championships in Paris that brought glory to a cricket crazy country, but also the achievement of another woman, discuss thrower Neelam J. Singh, in storming into the final.

While applauding the brilliant performances of George and Singh, one should however be realistic and acknowledge that in athletics our showing at the world level has been very poor.
— B.K. Chatterjee, Faridabad

Anju Bobby George’s feat at the World Championships has made us all proud, but it is very sad that news reports are going overboard in belittling other greats of Indian athletics. P.T. Usha and Milkha Singh may not have won medals at comparable events, but have you also forgotten a lady who recently won an Olympic bronze in weightlifting?
— Pranav Singh, On e-mail

Caste-ing light

Superb caste-cum-class analysis (‘Maya’s gone but in these Dalit homes, the change’s for real’, IE, September 1). I wonder if Manini Chatterjee would like to probe the upper caste mind a bit.

What was the Yadav feeling during Mayawati’s tenure as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh? What was the brahmin feeling? Who was angrier, and why? Also, how does the Muslim look at the regime change? Is he a player too, or as aloof as the two chess players at the end of Shatranj Ke Khiladi?
— Sumit Mitra, On e-mail

Goodwill hunting

This refers to ‘Leave it to Laloo’ by Mani Shankar Aiyar (IE, August 19) in which the author was all praise for Laloo Prasad Yadav’s display of public relations in Pakistan.

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But the solution to Pakistan’s interference and export of terrorism lies elsewhere and not in sending and receiving so-called goodwill delegations at the cost of ordinary citizens who pay for this show in terms of life and property.
— V.K. Bhattar, Thiruvananthapuram

Bridge too far

Many innocent lives were lost when a road bridge in Daman collapsed. What action does our government take against those who are responsible for maintaining infrastructure when such failures occur? It is not as if there is no government spending on infrastructure. Often the money spent does not realise the end result.

We should realise that one of the biggest challenges confronting us is aging infrastructure. As the years go by, falling road and rail bridges could take a lot of us with them.
— Prakash Muthuswamy, On e-mail

On Iraq, careful

This refers to your editorial ‘Nasty, brutish, Iraq’ (September 1). India has to consider the issue of sending troops to Iraq very carefully. In no way should it be seen as supporting Anglo-American plans of hegemony.
— Saratchandran, On e-mail