Leave her alone

The latest about-turn by Zaheera Sheikh on the eve of a crucial day in court in Mumbai, speaks volumes about the kind of press...

The latest about-turn by Zaheera Sheikh on the eve of a crucial day in court in Mumbai, speaks volumes about the kind of pressures that are working on her. It is a travesty of justice that the case had to be transferred to another state because of the prevailing intimidation in Gujarat. It is time Zaheera is left alone. No democracy can sustain itself unless justice is done and also seen to be done. In Gujarat, there are hundreds of other cases which require to be looked at. The Supreme Court suo moto should take cognisance of these and go to the underlying reasons for witnesses turning hostile. It is one of the greatest tragedies of communal riots that in these riots innocents get killed and the guilty get away without any punishment.

8212; Ram Puniyani Mumbai

Probe NGOs

8226; The statement by Zaheera Sheikh that she was forced by human rights activists into making statements is another volte face. She has acquired quite an acumen for somersaults. The latest revelations, if taken at face value, expose the anti-state attitude of so-called human rights activists and the extent to which they can go to malign the Gujarat Government. From their rehabilitation rhetoric against the Narmada Project to their meddling role in the Best Bakery case, it is all deja vu. Her allegations that her relatives were abducted and kept in custody by Teesta Setalwad are of a serious nature. They should be probed. Meanwhile, we wary Gujaratis wait for her next salvo.

8212; Nimesh Patel Porbandar

Archaic indeed

8226; This refers to your wonderful editorial 8216;Not again!8217; IE, November 4 exposing the archaic US electoral laws. While it8217;s early voting in some states, voting goes well beyond the scheduled timings in others. While counting is still underway in some states, polling goes on elsewhere! Postal ballots are to be counted only after 11 days of polling day! No uniformity in electoral process in the states either. While some states still have card punching, others have EVMs. Recounting, errors, system failure, wholesale meddling by lawyers are legion. It8217;s unfortunate America has not learned lessons from the Florida fracas of 2000! Or, for that matter, from India8217;s well-oiled electoral machine.

8212; K.P. Rajan Mumbai

Renew cricket

8226; Indian cricket is looking down an endless precipice. The infallibility surrounding some cricketers has been dented. Sachin Tendulkar has been failing with the bat with alarming regularity. No one faults him for that. It is difficult to score as the crowd expects him to every time he bats. But when he fails to contribute to the score reasonably well over a long period, there is something wrong. Either he must take a break until he regains his form, or the selectors must show spine enough to replace him. No one can take his place for granted, as has been happening so far. Newcomers must be given preference if Indian cricket has to have a future.

8212; V.P. Damodar Pune

Et tu, America

8226; When Indian voters vote for the tainted and the criminal in India and make them ministers, we all criticise the voters for the wrong choice. Now even the American citizens have voted someone who has been called the world8217;s biggest criminal to power. What do we have to say about that?

8212; Amjad K. Maruf Mumbai