Silent on rights

8226; This refers to your editorial 8216;Dialogue dilemmas8217; IE, February 26. It is astonishing that the...

8226; This refers to your editorial 8216;Dialogue dilemmas8217; IE, February 26. It is astonishing that the human rights concern in Kashmir according to you belongs to the hardliners only. If the moderates speak up for human rights, they speak under pressure of the hardliners. Moulvi Abbas had very little to get from New Delhi in the first place, but he still gave it a chance. The much hyped 8220;yes, you are right8221; approach is typical of every Indian leader in any negotiations with Kashmiris right from Nehru8217;s days and not of L.K. Advani alone. Advani did tell his uniformed men to show restraint after 15 years of bloodshed, but the so called 8216;8216;order8217;8217; seems to be for the consumption of the media alone.
The refusal of the Indian media to give coverage to the human rights violations in Kashmir does not mean that everything is fine on that front. Hurriyat has every right to take the best decision in this regard. I wish the media in India was independent of government policies.

8212; Shuja On e-mail

Debate, please

8226; Will the one-sided campaign on the IIM fees issue by our media stop now or are you going to say that the Supreme Court has got it wrong? As in the past, when the SC8217;s decision goes according to the line taken by the media it is hailed as the correct decision and when it goes against, it is criticised. Do you think we can be fooled all the time? Why this trial of M.M. Joshi by the media? Don8217;t we deserve a constructive debate instead?

8212; Ashish Athalye Mumbai

Balanced Atal

8226; Sanjaya Baru8217;s article on 8216;Vajpayee8217;s Nehruism8217; IE, February 25, was on the mark in evaluating Vajpayee8217;s leadership style. Although this prime minister has been cut from a completely different cloth, India8217;s prime minister emphasises the need for a balanced approach in governing India.

8212; Kirtidev Bhatt On e-mail

Indians first

8226; Saeed Naqvi focuses on caste and religion and almost comes to the right conclusion at the end of 8216;Muslims need a new compass8217; IE, February 27. The right conclusion is that when they vote, Muslims should think of themselves as Indians first. They should not consider caste and religion and ignore 8220;leaders8221; who offer such advice. As Indians, they should weigh local and national benefits and make their choice.

8212; Arun Patel On e-mail

And Sonia?

8226; Apropos of 8216;Hema, Meena, Deeka8230;8217; IE, February 27, I would like to ask Pamela Philipose to comment on the abilities of Sonia Gandhi who has been aspiring for the country8217;s top job.

8212; V. Prasad On e-mail

Lack of goodwill

8226; I am a Pakistani and it is very sad to see how the Pakistan Cricket Board is being pushed to accept the conditions of the BCCI. You think venues in India never have crowd related problems? There really seems to be a lack of goodwill on the Indian part for this trip. Please visit Pakistan as a welcome guest. If you do not want to go, just decline gracefully. Do not insult your host.

8212; Azam Khan On e-mail