Letters To The Editor

Flight of panic8226; I happened to be on the very same Northwest Airline Flight 0042 exactly a month ago. While we encountered nothing more...

Flight of panic

8226; I happened to be on the very same Northwest Airline Flight 0042 exactly a month ago. While we encountered nothing more alarming than a frowning flight attendant shooing people in the toilet queue back to their seats during a period of turbulence, it was apparent that the American crew was not entirely at ease with a plane-load of Indians. This was before the London terror alert, of course, and probably they were just uncomfortable due to the 8220;unsophisticated8221; behaviour displayed by some of the passengers. My point is that it is not surprising that this incident took place on an US airliner. The sight of a bunch of guys who looked 8220;different8221; and were 8220;horsing around8221;, to use a Yankee expression, was probably too much for the cabin crew.

Are terrorists really that stupid? Would a terrorist intent on mayhem go out of his way to draw attention to himself? Not unless he was incredibly dumb 8212; which Al-Qaeda or its affiliates definitely are not. If one of their operatives was smart enough to deceive multiple levels of airport security and get aboard an airplane, he would be smart enough to be unobtrusive. The genuine bad guy would probably be smartly dressed and speak impeccable English.

8212; Firoze Hirjikaka Mumbai

Follow norms

8226; The drama of detained Indians on Northwest Airlines has ended peacefully. All8217;s well that ends well. It is important to view this development dispassionately. The fact is that there is a certain pattern of behaviour expected from passengers, by law, custom and decorum. Cellphones have to be disabled during the flight and passengers are required to sit quietly with their seat belts on. They are not expected to take off their seat belts and saunter along the aisles, chatting loudly with fellow passengers, as if they were in their own homes. Conversations with co-passengers have to be discreet and should not disturb others. The times have changed and security considerations have become primary. It is important that as national and international air passengers, we learn to conform to the required norms.

8212; K. Venkataraman Delhi

Intriguing silence

8226; In her article, The born again terrorist8217; IE, August 25, French journalist Nadine Kreisberger attempts a psychological and sociological profiling of white youths who convert to Islam and get attracted to terrorism. Her figures, for example, of French converts numbering 50,000, some 3.2 per cent of whom are attracted to 8220;some form of radical Islam8221;, are an eye-opener. Although a very small percentage 8212; in absolute numbers only 1,600 8212; it seems alarming for a peaceful civil society such as that of France. However, what seemed intriguing and inexplicable is her silence on the basic malady. How is it that a supposedly peace-loving faith has some practitioners adopting a mindless radicalism?

8212; M. Ratan New Delhi

Open society

8226; I fully endorse your view that blanket bans and censorship are dangerous short-cuts, intolerable in an open society Use the remote8217;, IE, August 25. Neither the parenting of our children, nor the determining of our choices is the business of the government and the courts. Unless our activities pose a real and serious threat to national security or the country8217;s interests, why should the government indulge in moral policing by banning or censoring any channel 8212;

Indian or foreign 8212; which is available to viewers of other free and modern societies through the DTH service? In any case, what viewers want to see in their drawing rooms or bedrooms, should be left to them and them alone.

8212; M.C. Joshi New Delhi