Letters To The Editor

Star wars gazing8226; This refers to your editorial, 8216;Aim it right8217; IE, November 29. Eminent scientists are of the opinion that...

Star wars gazing

8226; This refers to your editorial, 8216;Aim it right8217; IE, November 29. Eminent scientists are of the opinion that foolproof missile defence is an impossibility. The drama enacted of the midair shooting down of one Prithvi missile by another is an arranged affair. When ten enemy missiles attack, say, an Indian aircraft carrier, can all the ten be shot down? And one missile escaping the so-called air defence capability could send the ship carrying a thousand men and two dozen aircraft to the bottom of the sea. It is high time the DRDO tried to cater to the needs of the Indian armed forces that buy most of their sophisticated weaponry from abroad, instead of proving its technological excellence in costly but useless scientific fantasies. Indians are too poor to indulge in star wars.

8212;N. Kunju, Delhi

Fali8217;s counsel

8226; I can8217;t agree more with the contents of Fali S. Nariman8217;s article, 8216;A crime like no other8217; IE, November 29. The right given to the accused to remain silent throughout the criminal judicial proceedings is a conception of the civilised world. The accused breaks his silence by way of summoning defence witnesses only when he feels that the prosecution has proved his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. If it is mandatory for him to justify his position, his total silence or the incongruity in his version may be utilised to connect the faintly missing links in the prosecution evidence. The present practice has resulted more in the acquittal than in the conviction of an innocent. The ratio may be 1: 1000. In terror-related cases this privilege must not be continued with any longer. Civilised laws are for civilised people 8212; and suicide bombers cannot be placed in that category.

8212; N.K. Das Gupta, Kolkata

August onus

8226; Why are MPs so infuriated about the statements made by Greg Chappell? Some of them were visibly angry and said that they did not require lecturing since they are the elected representatives of the people. But it8217;s disgraceful to see that they forget about it when they misbehave in Parliament or take to the streets. They should reserve their righteous outrage for issues like poverty, lawlessness, corruption and illiteracy in India and its dismal human rights record rather than cricket.

8212; Sandeep Ghiya, Mumbai

Wisdom pitch

8226; The piece, 8216;Parliament8217;s pitch8217;, IE, November 28, was thought-provoking. But I wonder if it will make any impression on our august parliamentarians or on the raiders of Kaif8217;s house. It was disappointing to find the Lok Sabha Speaker was also a part of the chorus when he could have distributed some wisdom to the misguided.

8212; R. Singh, Delhi

Sheila8217;s excuse

8226; Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, 8216;Walk the Talk8217;, IE, November 27, after being in power for over seven years, is now blaming multiple centres of power in the Capital as a stumbling block for its faster and more systematic development. That might be true. But one wonders what was preventing her all these decades from getting them abolished when the Congress was the ruling party at the Centre? Similarly, when in the opposition, she clamoured for grant of statehood to Delhi, but now when her own government is in power, she and her party8217;s Delhi unit are surprisingly silent about statehood. Such duplicity only makes her concern sound hollow.

8212; G.S. Kulkarni, Delhi