Letters to the editor

Left patriots8226; IT8217;S unfair on your part to state, as you have in your editorial, 8216;1942-478217; IE, August 23, that Left po...

Left patriots

8226; IT8217;S unfair on your part to state, as you have in your editorial, 8216;1942-478217; IE, August 23, that Left postures are inspired or dictated by the national interests of other countries. Communists, not only in India but elsewhere, were at the forefront of the freedom struggle. There is no doubt that Communists, who were part of the Congress, had declined to support the Quit India call. But there is also ample evidence to suggest that even Gandhi and Nehru considered Hitler a greater threat than the British Empire. As for the Communist stance on the Chinese aggression, they merely stated that it was difficult to prove that China was the first to launch the aggression. Blindly supporting one8217;s own country8217;s aggressive policies should not be the criterion for judging patriotism. Millions of Americans publicly opposed the US aggression on Iraq and Vietnam yet nobody, not even President Bush, has described them as traitors. The RSS, too, did not participate in the freedom struggle. Should we treat it as an organisation of anti-nationals?

8212;Lajja Shankar Herdenia, Bhopal

Power point

8226; YOUR editorial, 8216;1942-20078217;, reminds me of a very funny anecdote we heard when we were in school. The Bhakra dam had been inaugurated and the most prestigious jewel of Punjab 8212; the Bhakra canal 8212; had opened for irrigation purposes. Some communists were believed to have gone to villages and told farmers that the canal water can8217;t be of any use, now that the government has taken all the electricity out of it!

8212;Rajeev K. Dhaumya, New Delhi

Forces, stay out

8226; IN his article, 8216;Missing chief of defence staff8217; IE, August 27, Arun Prakash had referred to the Kargil review committee report and stressed the need for such an appointment. He goes on to recommend that the Services be brought 8216;inside the ministry of defence8217;. Firstly, the diversity, composition, relative sizes, and roles of the three Services render it absolutely unnecessary to bring them under a single military commander. Their efforts in the event of an emergency can be best integrated through the cabinet committee under the chairmanship of the PM. The need of the hour is to strengthen the military intelligence mechanism that had failed miserably, leading to the avoidable Kargil fiasco. Secondly, we must remember that 8212; loved and respected as they are 8212; the Armed Forces are combatant forces with the power to kill. As such, their inclusion in the government is out of question in any democracy. It is therefore wrong to lament that 8220;service chiefs are kept well outside the inner circle8221;.

8212;R.K. Kale, Pune

This is jungle raj

8226; I WAS absolutely shocked to watch television footage of the incident that you have just reported 8216;Bhagalpur blinded: Bandho saale ko8217;, IE, August 29. One wonders whether Bihar is still living in medieval times. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and its ally, the BJP, came to power to bring peace and harmony to the people and end the 8216;jungle raj8217; of the Rabri Devi government. Is this the 8216;improvement8217; they have achieved? Kidnapping, abduction, rape and murder continue to be part of daily life here. This brutal incident reminded one of the Bhagalpur blindings of three decades ago. But more shocking was Nitish Kumar8217;s suo motu reply: 8220;The matter will be investigated.8221; What is there to investigate? The CM should have a case registered against all the alleged mischief mongers, including the cops, and ensure that they get exemplary punishment.

8212;Bidyut K. Chatterjee, Faridabad