Recalling Adam

• In his open letter,‘You can’t loan discipline’ (IE, May 13), Jaithirth Rao ...

• In his open letter,‘You can’t loan discipline’ (IE, May 13), Jaithirth Rao asks that Paul Wolfowitz make a video of how free trade and free markets contribute to growth and development. Wolfowitz needn’t bother to do this — such a video already exists. Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy (2002) was a six-hour programme consisting of three parts. It extolled the virtues of the free markets and free trade. But we need to bear in mind, lest we get bowled over by free trade, that Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations (1776) was a polemic against monopolistic tendencies. He favoured open competition, not the absence of restraints on the free market.

— Ganesh S. Krishnan Minnesota

• The US tax payers do not bail out the World Bank, as the writer claims. It is contributions from member-countries, as well as the money paid back on past loans by borrowing countries, that generate income for the Bank.

— Dr Vedavalli On e-mail

The Maha exodus?

• This is with reference to your editorial, ‘Mumbai, unmade’ (IE, April 28). You say that while the West Bengal government is busy refurbishing Kolkata’s infrastructure, Mumbai’s government is too obsessed with the morals of its citizens to worry about the bright lights of progress. While it is true that the WB govt is busy refurbishing infrastructure, they are able to do so because the lower strata of their society — many of Mumbai’s bar girls come from this region — have deserted their home state for Mumbai.

— Ranjit Biswas Mumbai

Part of the problem

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• Apropos of the report, ‘Radars that don’t work, parachutes that didn’t land’ (IE, May 13), top armed forces bosses, politicians and the police are all part of the problem, given their lack of accountability and corruption.

— Chandru Narayan On e-mail

Mantri’s fantasy flight

• The prime minister is right to shoot down Laloo Prasad Yadav’s plans to run bullet trains (IE, May 14). The railway minister must first ensure safe train services, and then think of other projects. The railway ministry needs to do a lot of reorganisation and improvement. The minister seems to have little time to do this since he is running Bihar by remote control.

— F.S.K. Barar Jodhpur

• This is one more of Laloo Prasad Yadav’s ego trips. If he only spent a little more time in trying to decrease corruption within his family and department, maybe the trains we do have will run on time at least.

— Sanjeev Vasishtha On e-mail

• Running a bullet train for a distance of 500 km is sheer foolishness. If at all a bullet train should be run, it should be on long routes like that between Jammu and Kanyakumari, Chennai and Amritsar, or between Mumbai and Dibrugarh, and so forth. Otherwise the project will not be viable.

— K. Srinivas Mumbai

Costly inquiries

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• Investigations of this kind are a drain on the exchequer. Your editorial is very realistic (‘End this witch-hunt’, IE, May 14).

— R. Sajan Aluva

rime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the gathering during the inauguration of the PM MITRA Park and foundation stone laying ceremony of development works, in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. (@NarendraModi via PTI Photo)

Pakistan brought down to its knees: Modi in his 75th birthday speech

India1 hr ago

PM Modi turns 75 today, speaking in Dhar district of MP on the occasion, he praised Indian soldiers saying they brought Pakistan to its knees in a blink of an eye as India was not scared of anyone’s nuclear threats and instead “enters the enemy’s home and strikes”. Earlier, he laid foundation stone foundation stone of the country’s first PM MITRA Park.

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