Networking India

• This refers to ‘Falling off the Davos map’ by Shekhar Gupta (IE, January 29). It ...

• This refers to ‘Falling off the Davos map’ by Shekhar Gupta (IE, January 29). It is indeed a pity that the government has not “exploited” an event such as the World Economic Forum. We as a nation are working hard but are not communicating it to the world. We need to “market” ourselves, like China has done over the past few years, and in that there is much to be learned from the red dragon next door. Unless we as a nation get our act together and lobby for ourselves in the West, India will remain relegated to the IT sector. Hopefully we’ll get our act together soon.

— Rakesh Sharma Mumbai

• What could account for India getting marginalised at the World Economic Forum? I think that due to the nature of Indian politics, our leaders are not media savvy and do not employ brand building and marketing techniques to push India’s views, not just on economic issues but also on political and military matters. The bureaucracy seems to be simply non-functional or lazy, at best. If India has to change, we need administrative reform. Who will demand it? Businessmen, journalists, taxpayers?

— Sanjay Narayanan Farmington

Define the state

• In your editorial ‘Politics of murder’ (January 28) you note that “assassinations and the like foretell the possibility that violence may actually put an end to politics as we know it.” What is regrettable is that the slain legislators had a violent criminal history and they were members of established political parties, which is but a sad commentary on our democratic politics. But there are two questions that trouble any discerning citizen. One, is the state obliged to give police protection to such characters at state expense? Second, is the state required to pick up the bill when public property is damaged extensively in the wake of the death of such legislators following bandhs called to express solidarity with the bereaved families and, worse, sponsored by their respective parties. Indeed, the answer to these questions is that the state should be compensated by the concerned political parties at the earliest, and the state is also not obliged to give police protection to legislators with a criminal past

— M.K.D. Prasada Rao On e-mail

It’s about votes

• The abductions drama in Bihar is really a shame. While five innocent children and their families have been needlessly traumatised, political parties have begun a blame game in order to win votes.

— Ajid Hussain Shah Aligarh

Mind the gaps

• Kudos to Sonya Philip for her thought provoking article ‘Alliance of diverse minds’ (IE, January 25). The tendency of teachers to ignore the neurological problems of the learning disabled and associate them with mental retardation has created havoc in the lives of many. Let the educational institutions begin investing in teacher training to liberate the minds of the learning disabled from the fear of rebuke and ridicule. This will result in the realisation of students’ full potential.

— Melan Varghese Kuwait