•Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s article ‘Invisible is the city’ brings into focus a variety of issues afflicting the urban way of living. Though most of the metros still maintain a mosaic of cosmopolitan culture, parochialism practised by certain political parties undermines the very federal structure of the Indian Union.An urban population is formed by people from all walks of life, and big cities thrive on an ethos of unity in diversity. Economy, infrastructure and civic amenities enjoyed by us in cities have been developed not by a particular community, but by migrants from all parts of our diverse country. A majority of the migrants live a hard life in slums, and the government has never applied itself to addressing their hardships. All parties compete with each other to make non-issues like ‘son of the soil’ into passionate rhetoric of a group or community. This is more dangerous than terrorism. — K.P. Udayabhanu New Delhi Naxal cure•'When state wants to wither away’ by Pratap Bhanu Mehta exposes the fundamental confusion of the state with no clear strategy to deal with Naxalites, leading to a brutal civil war-like situation in parts of the country. I feel Mehta failed to analyse why Naxalism is striking such robust roots. Without diagnosis, how can one suggest a cure for the disease? The political leadership of the country has miserably failed to grasp the cause of growth of Naxalites and the magnitude of the crisis. Naxalites should not be treated as criminals or terrorists or an internal security threat, as they are a product of a corrupt decaying socio-economic system. Naxalites have tapped successfully into a deep well-spring of anger and desperation of poor deprived people, based on ideology and despair, bred by poverty and deprivation. I feel the solution lies in good, efficient and corruption-free governance. — Vitull K. Gupta BhatindaA pacer’s born•Ishant Sharma is the find of the Australian tour. Going by Ishant’s pace and length, he could have been even picked for an Australian side along with Brett Lee. Sharma reminds me of Jeff Thomson, the greatest fast bowler the world has ever seen. With similar physique and height, Ishant has all the makings of a great fast bowler. Indians should nurture him well with proper training under some expert like Wasim Akram and also not overexpose him so that he stays free from injuries.Also, a piece of advice to Ishant. Don’t get carried away by short-term laurels and aim big if you want to become a great fast bowler like Imran Khan, Thomson, McGrath and Lillie, and for that you have to perform consistently over a period of time. — S.N. KabraMumbaiRap for Patan•The gang-rape of PTC students at Patan has brought shame to academia. Teachers in India have been given and are still given the highest respect for the commendable work they do and for their contribution in developing young minds.The six persons — of whom two hold PhD degrees — should be severely punished and made to do service for society for the rest of their lives, so that it serves as a warning to anyone contemplating something as bad as what they did.— Ariz K. BokdawallaAhmedabadTorn city •Mumbai, once the El Dorado of those seeking fame and fortune, today weeps silent tears for the sorry state that it finds itself in.— Pachu MenonMargao
