Not in the army

Where am I?

8226; A Minister in the Uttar Pradesh government has declared a cash reward of Rs 51 crore for killing a Danish cartoonist who caricatured Prophet Mohammad! At first when I read this news item, I got confused. Was I living in the land of the Taliban?

8212; M.R. Goplani Gandhinagar

Only Salman

8226; I refer to the report on Salman Khan getting a year8217;s jail in a poaching case IE, February 18. If Salman is guilty of killing the endangered blackbucks, then he must be severely punished. But before the highest court in India delivers its verdict it is only fair that the media, the various animal protection organisations, and the general public refrain from criticising Salman and passing their judgements.
Aren8217;t we all practicing double standards here? Only when a Salman Khan gets involved, do reams of newsprint and lots of soundbites get devoted to this issue.

8212; Amjad K. Maruf Mumbai

They dunnit

8226; This refers to your reports IE, February 20 in the wake of the outbreak of the avian flu in Nandurbar in northern Maharashatra. The poultry industry and the National Egg Co-ordination Committee have accused MNCs of entering into a 8216;nexus8217; to cash in on the scare in the country. Could it be so?

8212; K.P. Rajan Mumbai

A few good men

8226; Team India has settled scores with a vengeance with Pakistan in the one-day series, after its shameful surrender to them in the final Test. The series has seen young fast bowlers Rudra Pratap Singh and Sreesanth proving to be more than a handful for the Pak batsmen. It was encouraging to see the Indians featuring four medium pacers in their final eleven on the Pakistani pitches, which were heavily loaded in favour of the batsmen, with the exception of Multan. Considering the experimentation and innovation mode the current Team India think-tank is known to be in the throes of, one expected to see Ramesh Power, who has created a niche for himself in hitting useful cameos in the domestic circuit, to have a look-in with the bat as well in the final one-dayer. As far as batting is concerned, it is an immense relief to see Sachin Tendulkar back in form.

8212; Arjun Chaudhuri Kolkata

Ways of protest

8226; It is true that no Muslim can tolerate any disrespect to the Prophet Mohammad but Islam also forbids violent agitation on such issues. The current agitation erupted because of the publication of cartoons of the prophet in a Danish paper. Its reproduction in some European and American papers appears to have been masterminded by forces against Islam. But Muslims living in secular societies should confine themselves to peaceful protest.

8212; Shariq Alavi New Delhi