Letters To The Editor

Muse and mullah8226; Syeda Hameed's article,'Blunt message from shrapnels' IE, April 17, was quite moving. One was impressed by her conde...

Muse and mullah

8226; Syeda Hameed8217;s article,8217;Blunt message from shrapnels8217; IE, April 17, was quite moving. One was impressed by her condemnation of terror 8220;whether committed in the name of my religion or any other faith8221;, and her description of Jama Masjid as a 8220;symbol of Islam, which having brought the message of peace for all humankind, rejects every form of violence8221;. However, my dilemma arises when I juxtapose her interpretation of Islam to its projection to the world by Ayatollahs of Islam 8211; the learned exponents of the faith 8211; led by the likes of Ayatollah Khomeini, Mullah Omar of Afghanistan and

Muslim fundamentalists in other countries. I have been a witness to firing squads of Ayatollah Khomeini who summarily killed his opponents and dissidents in Tehran in the name of 8220;Allah, the Compassionate and Merciful8221;.

8211; M. Ratan, New Delhi

No Waqf apology

8226; The ASI, Delhi Waqf Board and the Jama Masjid Management Committee are accountable for the two bomb blasts that occurred recently within the precincts of the masjid. They are responsible for the management and upkeep of the mosque. They have not owned up to their responsibility or given any assurance to the general public, especially the Muslim community, of stepping up their vigil to

ensure that no untoward incident recurs.

8211; M.N.Y. Khan, Delhi

Whose andolan?

8226; I refer to 8216;BJP workers protest Aamir8217;s support to NBA8217; IE, April 17. It is really sad to see extreme reactions to Aamir Khan8217;s decision to join the Narmada Bachao Andolan. He is not only enduring violent reactions from the pro-Sardar Sarovar dam section but also putting up with the rebuff of anti-Narmada project people like Arundhati Roy. Does an activist like Arundhati Roy consider the NBA to be their personal fiefdom that they are objecting to Aamir Khan8217;s participation and putting forward conditions for joining the agitation by asking Aamir to quit endorsing Coke before joining the agitation? Anyone is free to join the agitation as long as they have honest intentions. She should know that after Medha Patkar was hospitalised, the agitation had lost steam andAamir8217;s advent gave the agitation a new lease of life.

8211; Amjad K. Maruf, Mumbai

More from Modi

8226; The biggest beneficiary of the power generated and irrigation water from Narmada dam is going to be Gujarat. As opposed to Medha Patkar8217;s genuine protest, Narendra Modi is only undertaking a token 51-hour fast. Perhaps the strong man of Gujarat may be brought around to compensate fully for the displaced people of the river basin.

That may meet the ends of real justice.

8211; Mukund B. Kunte, New Delhi

Butting in

8226; Mahesh Bhat appears on TV in general discussions on various issues like recently on the reversal of the ban on Mumbai dance bars by the courts. While in the discussion Rani Jethmalani and Poornima Advani were cogent in their arguments that we need to protect the status of women in our society and that dance bars do not contribute to this, we had Mahesh Bhat as usual worked up, drawing parallels between women dancing in films and those dancing in the bars in Mumbai. Little does Bhat realise that what passes off for entertainment in Hindi films, including the dances that he talks about, is for juveniles and cannot

logically be extended to three-dimensional reality.

8211; S. Kamat, Panaji