Letters to the editor

Reality on screen8226; THE unofficial ban on Parzania in Gujarat comes as a severe blow to the liberal democratic values of our society ...

Reality on screen

8226; THE unofficial ban on Parzania in Gujarat comes as a severe blow to the liberal democratic values of our society 8216;The right to offend8217; by Soli Sorabjee, IE, January 30. One recalls that last year Aamir Khan8217;s film, Fanaa, was also not permitted to be screened in Gujarat. Parzania is a sensitive film based on the Gujarat carnage, in which the true life story of a Parsi couple whose son goes missing is taken up. The ban reflects the deeper rot that has set in within the state of Gujarat under BJP rule. It is a state where over 50,000 families have been displaced due to the riots, where the process of justice delivery has been severely hamstrung, and where the minorities are being boycotted, resulting in their alienation and consequent ghettoisation.

8212; Ram Puniyani, Mumbai

8226; WHEN Hindutva goons were committing massacres in Gujarat in 2002, we did not hear a word from the writer. The Bajrang Dal getting Parzania banned in Gujarat is a relatively minor transgression.

8212; Jawid Laiq, New Delhi

Russian bond

8226; YOUR leader 8216;Russian reality check8217;, IE, January 27, is unnecessarily dismissive of Russian President Putin8217;s commitment to nuclear co-operation between his country and India, and is definitely one-sided. Let us not conveniently forget the past when America, under the stewardship of US Secretary of State John Foster Dulless, considered our foreign policy of non-alignment 8220;immoral8221;. But for President Yeltsin wilting under American pressure and reneging on his country8217;s commitment to India under the cryogenic deal, Russia would never go back on its commitment of co-operation with us in any field.

8212; M.K.D. Prasada Rao, Bangalore

Killing for laurel

8226; THE report, 8216;Rs 20,000 if you bring back my son8217; IE, January 30, was deeply shocking. It is not the first time that one has read such heart-rending reports of fake-encounter killings in Kashmir. Have some elements in the J038;K police and other security forces become so lawless and dehumanised that they merrily resort to such criminal acts to earn quick laurels, without much fear of getting caught and punished? What happened to 8220;zero tolerance8221; for such blatant, brutal violations of human rights tom-tomed by no less a person than Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh some time ago?

8212; M. Ratan , New Delhi

Quote, unquote

8226; UNNECESSARY and indecent comments against India8217;s top leadership, including President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, by Bal Thackeray, denote the frustration of the Shiv Sena supremo because of his party8217;s poor performance in recent times. Persons in political life do have the right to express their views freely and frankly, but they should not stoop to such a low level 8216;On the record8217;, IE, January 29 and 30.

8212; Subhash C. Agrawal, Delhi