Overstating identity

Pratap Bhanu Mehta, in rather convoluted language, seems to suggest in...

8226;Pratap Bhanu Mehta, in rather convoluted language, seems to suggest in 8216;Partitions of the mind8217; that we Indians should become, overnight, strait-jacketed secularists 8212; a rather insidious argument in favour of a uniform civil code in line with the Hindutva brigade. If St Stephen8217;s College is a minority institution, I do not see what is wrong with it being allowed to set its own admission criteria. The fact is that these institutions, especially English-language Christian schools and colleges, have become money-making enterprises, and are being run on elitist lines. It is, I hope, in this spirit that the apparent course correction of those running that college should be viewed.

I might be wrong, but I think that caste and communal identity are more apparent in print and the drawing rooms of eggheads than in everyday life in this country.

8212; Rufus D8217;Souza

Pune

Sans compassion

8226;The report 8216;22 dogs found dead in Mumbai8217; is yet another instance of the human-animal conflict, as each species tries to carve out some liveable space for itself. Compassion may not be enforceable, but there are high court judgments upholding the rights of animals, including those of stray dogs. Yet, many housing societies blatantly violate such laws by catching stray dogs by inhuman means and dumping them in uninhabitable places with no food and water. The euphemism used is 8220;relocation8221;. If punishment is meted out for this criminal act, it is the dogcatcher who is booked and then let off with a small fine. Those who plan and finance the crime are never caught.

The most humane and legal method of containing the 8220;proliferation8221; of stray dogs is through sterilisation and inoculation. Some of us, as private individuals, have often done so at our own expense, only to find that the sterilised strays have been relocated8221;. As I stood beside one of the dying dogs trying to shelter it from the rain, an old rag picker who came by said sympathetically that 8220;The animals are just like us, looking for a little food and shelter8221;. Much more 8220;compassionate8221; than all those members of wealthy housing societies who would not hesitate to kill the creatures instead of using the huge resources at their command to help contain the problem.

8212; Susan Jacob

Nerul

Explanation needed

8226;L.K. Advani should make the position of the BJP clear. Given the way his party is finding fault with the IAEA and the 123 Agreement, it appears that to the BJP the opinions expressed by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Anil Kakodkar are biased and misleading. Can Advani tell us who in the BJP understands nuclear science?

Can his experts tell us which country will give us uranium for our power stations without India signing the IAEA agreement?

8212; R.P. Desai

Mumbai