Mahatma and us• Harish Salve (‘Courting the rule of law’, IE, January 9) criticises Mamata Banerjee for her ‘populist’ fast. He also says her protest is in no way comparable to Mahatma Gandhi’s. The Mahatma was protesting against a foreign ruler, Salve says. I would like to remind Salve that Gandhiji’s last fast was in 1948, demanding that India give Pakistan Rs 55 crore. Prior to the fast, the then government of India had refused to give the money to Pakistan since the latter had invaded Kashmir. However, the government had finally yielded to Gandhiji. The Mahatma had also fasted on issues such as commodifying cow’s milk. He had held that human consumption of cow milk is unethical. Gandhiji’s close associates vowed that they would not consume cow’s milk. We must be more historically accurate before sanctifying all of the Mahatma’s fasts. — K.G. Acharya, Mumbai • I strongly protest against the telecast of a comedy show satirising the Mahatma by two Indian TV channels. Clowning with Gandhi’s legacy in a strip-tease is just about the worst form of disrespect. That the clown in question is an Indian-born American doesn’t make the attempt at humour any better or any more justified. And let’s remember why the Mahatma used to dress in the fashion he did — his aim was to identify with millions of poor Indians. If we can’t understand the nobility of that purpose, let’s at least not heap indignity on it. — N. Radhakrishnan, Chennai• That the I&B minister thought he had the power to demand apology from TV channels because they had aired a comedy clip about Gandhiji, shows why having an I&B ministry is a liability. The I&B minister typically doesn’t have to do much and he or she therefore goes around acting as our moral uncle or aunty (if P.R. Dashmunshi is the uncle then Sushma Swaraj was the aunty). We don’t need a ministry like this. The Indian media is self-regulated and free. We should cherish that.— R.M. Parashnath, Bangalore Kashmir FAQ• We should do a test the next time our politicians talk of Kashmir. Ask our MPs and MLAs whether they can give the correct historical position on the dispute, where the territorial claims stand after 60 years of Indo-Pak fights. I suspect most of our netas would fail the test. Most of us, the educated classes, would fail the test, too. So it’s high time the government considered publishing a white paper detailing facts and India’s positions. That will serve public interest much more than prime ministerial homilies on Kashmir — we may get more of that soon since the Republic Day is coming. — Dalip Singh Wasan, PatialaULFA’s position• I am surprised that the PM has said that talks can be held if the ULFA abjures violence. Even if the ULFA becomes non-violent it will not give up the idea of an independent Assam. How can we talk with the ULFA till it maintains that position? Also, does the PM not know that the ULFA has channels open with Pakistani and Bangladeshi intelligence services? Is the government going to talk with an ISI proxy? — M.C.Joshi, Mumbai
