Let8217;s debate

8226; Let us give the benefit of the doubt to L.K. Advani. He says he is ready fo...

8226; Let us give the benefit of the doubt to L.K. Advani. He says he is ready for a debate on the controversial statements he made in Pakistan. If Advani8217;s motives are genuine, he should be able to explain his past and present positions and why there was a need for a change at a personal level and why there should be a change at the party level. Given that it is impossible to undo the partition of the country, Advani should also make his present picture large enough to include practical ways of achieving permanent peace with Pakistan. Given also that India has a significant Muslim minority, his picture should include ways to achieve meaningful secularism within India.

8212; Giri Girishankar On e-mail

Hysteria!

8226; Saeed Naqvi has hit the nail on the head with his article 8220;Which way will BJP go?8221; IE, June 10 by pointing to the 8220;hysteria generated by soundbite journalism8221;. The innumerable TV news channels, all trying to get an exclusive quote, give too much importance to people who are just not important.

8212; Sumita Kale Pune

But not Jinnah

8226; Your editorial 8216;Stand up, BJP8217; IE, June 10 is correct regarding L.K. Advani and the RSS-VHP. If the BJP wants to emerge as a moderate, modern, right-wing party the way to do it is by recasting its communal image. However, does that necessarily mean praising Jinnah? Most Indians, including those who do not like the BJP, would never consider Jinnah secular. A man whose politics caused untold suffering, whose ideology has led to a semi-permanent state of hostility between Pakistan and India, can hardly be regarded as a role model.

8212; Haridas Lucknow

It doesn8217;t matter

8226; Like me, the post-Independence generation has started retiring from service. I don8217;t know or I didn8217;t want to know about Jinnah as Pakistan is a reality today and we cannot do anything about it. Ultimately Jinnah is a dead man and it is not going to affect our lives whether he was secular or not.

8212; N. Ramanathan Mumbai

Valuable memories

8226; I am glad to see that the Indian Express has brought this episode to the knowledge of the public 8216;Not many in this town have heard of its 118 heroes8217;, IE, June 9. A constant effort should be made to highlight incidents where great sacrifices have been made by our soldiers for safeguarding our country and its people.

8212; N. Viswanthan Chennai

Testing times

8226; Apropos of your editorial 8216;One exam fits all8217; IE, June 9, the Tamil Nadu government should have consulted with educationists before deciding to go in for a single examination for admission to professional colleges in the state. That would have lent transparency to its functioning. In the current competitive era, the school leaving examination might act as the screening test. But different institutions should be allowed to conduct separate admission tests, to suit their unique styles. What the government should do is to see to it that these institutions do not indulge in undue money-spinning in the name of a long-drawn admission procedure.

8212; Arjun Chaudhuri Kolkata