Letters To The Editor

Ideologue tilts 8226; The Indian Express has done an excellent job in publishing M.G. Vaidya8217;s article 8216;Those terming Soni...

Ideologue tilts

8226; The Indian Express has done an excellent job in publishing M.G. Vaidya8217;s article 8216;Those terming Sonia8217;s8230;8217;, Op-Ed page, IE, March 28. Various newspaper reports make it clear that the RSS ideologue8217;s view is his own and not that of the RSS. Most of the people within the Sangh Parivar and outside are not taken in by the propaganda of the Congress and Sonia Gandhi8217;s sycophants that what she has done is a sacrifice.
Here is a rundown of her 8220;sacrifices8221;. She tried to get the seat of prime minister twice, but failed and became the super prime minister in 2004 by creating the non-Constitutional post of profit, namely, chairperson of the NAC, a post without any accountability. Sonia has no right to talk of sacrifice. If we call what Sonia did a sacrifice, we insult the great freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the nation. Since most of the people are aware of this, Sonia and the Congress will not benefit on this account and Vaidya is wrong in his view to this effect.

8212; K.G. Acharya Mumbai

In media race

8226; Not one but two media columnists in the Indian Express! And 8216;media8217; defined narrowly as only television, giving your armchair critics the moral right to unleash endless venomous diatribes on the horrors of broadcast journalism even though the poor dears may not be able to tell a news story from a weather report. A quote from the American writer D Marty Lasley is appropriate: 8220;Television is like a hapless baby harp seal being lampooned by social critics, teachers, preachers and parents8230;8221; And here are the words of Kenneth A Myers, former producer of National Public Radio in America,: 8220;Television is the dominant medium of pop culture, it is the most significant shared reality of our times and of all mediums, plays the most culturally unifying role.8221; If television8217;s critics became a little less shallow and jealous and a little more thoughtful and educated, the cause of media would be far better served.

8212; Sagarika Ghose, New Delhi

Short cut

8226; The move to call a short session of Parliament to pass a legislation to save the legislators of all parties enjoying offices of profit underscores the fact that our politicians have made politics into a lucrative business. They fight among themselves for greater share in the turf but become united when it comes to their common self-interest. They will amend the law, if necessary the Constitution, to make politics still more profitable, all at the cost of the people of the country. Our political parties continue to suffer from intellectual bankruptcy. None of the legal minds in any party understood the fallout of the Prevention of Disqualification Act before the Election Commission8217;s decision on Jaya Bachchan.

8212; Devendra Narain Gurgaon

Gandhian trope

8226; What sacrifice are the Congressmen talking about in comparing their party president with Mahatma Gandhi? The Mahatma never consulted with his son or any other family member before taking those decisions which history records as acts of personal sacrifice.

8212; Dheeraj Pandey Ghaziabad

Contested comments

8226; I am surprised to read the views of Harsha Bhogle on the performance of Dhoni and Pathan in the Mumbai Test, 8216;Indians aren8217;t yet ready to pass this test8217;, IE, March 23. His comments that Dhoni isn8217;t ready to bat at No. 6 yet and Pathan8217;s moment at No. 7 has not yet arrived, defies all logic. He seems to have forgotten that Dhoni and Pathan have been bailing India out of tricky positions consistently for the last six months.

8212; Amjad K. Maruf, Mumbai