•This refers to your editorial, ‘Single-party coalitions,’ and Coomi Kapoor’s article, ‘The great Indian number theory’. It is true that ever since her splendid victory in UP, Mayawati has been gaining more and more political grounds at the national level if the success of her recent ‘campaign’ is any indication. Her strategy to patent a new formula of social inclusivity has worked remarkably well, much to the discomfiture of the Congress. The BJP too seems worried at the expanding base of the BSP.As for the Congress’s dilemma, Kapoor has rightly said that “what it gains on the roundabouts it could lose on swings”. But then Mayawati is taking advantage of the failure of the two major national parties to deliver, giving her ample political opportunities, of which she is making very good use. However, I don’t consider it enough for Mayawati to make it to the seat of power at the Centre. — S.K. GuptaDelhiFarming vote• The concessions in the Union budget make it very obvious that elections are round the corner. Suffocated all the time by the Left, the Congress wishes to break loose, and breathe free, with the hope that the budget largesse will earn it a cornucopia of votes. But then most politicians forget the fact that the voters have grown wiser over the years. There is no guarantee at all that generosity shown by the ruling party will translate into votes. This has been the bitter experience of many political parties in the states. — A. PrasadAhmedabadNew willow order• India have won the CB Series, outplaying Australia in every department of the game in the finals. The tri-series must be ranked as one of the toughest tournaments in the game, alongside the World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Most keen observers of the game would agree that if the umpiring in the Test series had been fair, India would have at least drawn the series if not won it. Clearly, we are now at par with the world champions if not better. It would make the trans-Pacific rivalry the premier contest in the game. India had also won the Twenty20 championship in South Africa, and the Under-19 team has recently won the junior world title in Kuala Lumpur. It looks as if our players have scripted a new world order in cricket. Or is this good run a passing phase? Can India win the 2011 World Cup?— Farzana Nigar Doranda No Akbarnama this• A handsome young Moghul prince Akbar is offered Jodhaa, the daughter of a Rajput king in marriage, as an alliance to buy peace for the Hindu state. Akbar accepts, and their love story (how he wins Jodhaa’s love) makes a beautiful movie — with not a trace in it of disrespect towards any community. Therefore, why this pother on the streets, and where is the warrant for a ban on Jodhaa Akbar in the four states? Does anybody care if history is distorted? After all, cinema has the right to be fictional. What one sees doesn’t always have to be real. Surely we are mature enough to be above such squabbles. To us it should be a cinematic experience soaked in lilting music. We have to see it in its fictive context; nowhere does director Ashutosh Gowarikar claim it to be history. Let us not keep a good movie from being screened freely and savoured. — Roda D. HakimBaroda
