The Indian cricket team’s splendid performance in Pakistan establishes that the youngsters have prevailed. In any competitive sport, the young have the zest and energy required to scale the highest peaks. Greg Chappell’s experiment to infuse young blood in the team is paying dividends. We should, therefore, cease to be emotional about senior players when they are sidelined. — Harischandra Parasuram Mumbai Dhunai by Dhoni • After the spineless Test defeat at the hands of host Pakistan, who would have thought that Rahul Dravid’s men would post a series win? But the young Indian players like Pathan, Dhoni, R.P. Singh, Suresh Raina have proved themselves, each in his own way. One will savour memories of Irfan Pathan’s all-round performance in bowling and batting, Dhoni’s blistering dhunai, R.P. Singh or Sreesanth’s bowling. It’s a good sign for cricket lovers that the young players’ performance has given the indication that even without seniors like Ganguly, Tendulkar or Kumble, India can easily take the challenge to the opponent. — Bidyut K. Chatterjee Faridabad Fight fair • The publishers of the British magazine, Maxim, were completely wrong in publishing obscene morphed photographs of Khushboo. She is right in getting offended and she should see to it that the publishers are punished. But I fail to understand Khushboo’s logic in asking for monetary compensation of Rs 3 crore. She has asked for money instead of immediately filing a defamation suit in a court of law. She has refused to acknowledge the publisher’s apology by saying that the obscene photograph has done irreparable damage to her reputation. Fair enough. But can she explain as to how Rs 3 crore will help her retrieve her lost reputation? It is imperative that she realises that her fight against the publishers needs to be on the right track too. — Amjad K. Maruf Mumbai Don’t talk, do • Manmohan Singh’s ‘wish’ for an establishment of strategic thinkers who can look beyond the immediate term and be ‘‘secure’’ enough to think about the country’s future (IE, February 16) is a typical example of the hiatus between what politicians preach and what they practice. Politicians of all hues prefer — and reward — intellectuals as well as civil servants who serve their interest, not those who are objective and assertive. Just take a glance at the list of appointments of retired civil servants to important posts during the NDA rule as well as since the UPA came to power. — Devendra Narain New Delhi J&K on track • The UPA government needs to be complimented for its pursuance of a multi-track policy on Kashmir. While Ghulam Nabi Azad is engaged in improving governance, albeit with limited success at present, Narayanan is tackling the thornier issue of handling the vitriolic Malik and Shabir Shah who, chameleon-like, are changing tracks at each meeting, without losing sight of the interests of mainstream leaders like the Abdullahs and the Mufti Sayeeds. The coup de grace, however, is the marginalisation of hardliner Geelani, who received a very tepid response during his Haj trip permitted after eight years. Surprisingly, the government is subdued about these achievements. — B.R.K. Rao New Delhi
