Sumitra8217;s death, a blot

8226; Sumitra Patel was an innocent victim of HIV. Her husband died of AIDS in 8217;03. Her murd...

8226; Sumitra Patel was an innocent victim of HIV. Her husband died of AIDS in 8217;03. Her murder, at the hands of her relatives, was itself an unholy, evil act, specially when the place is in history books for being associated with Gandhiji. The murder violated the freedom Gandhiji had bestowed on every Indian. Sumitra8217;s relatives have violated her personal rights and freedom. Ignorance can be no excuse for murder.

8212; Arvind Amin On e-mail

Education undermined

8226; Professor Yashpal rightly intervened in the case of private universities and as you pointed out in your editorial IE, Feb 14, the problem has been highlighted but everybody is fumbling for a solution. The issue, however, is not restricted to universities per se but to schools and colleges read coaching centres. For example, in Andhra Pradesh, the floodgates were opened for setting up colleges for imparting coaching at the Plus-2 stage for engineering/medical entrance examinations. There was mad rush to set up such colleges and make fast money 8212; throwing basic amenities like proper buildings with playgrounds, the promotion of extracurricular activities, and the like, to the winds.

8212; K. Ravi Prasad On e-mail

More roadblocks

8226; This refers to the report,8216;India drops passport demand but bus hits roadblock8217; IE, February 15. As the proposal to start the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad emanated from India, it is for India to decide the comfort level of adjustments in the matter of issuing travel documents. Pakistan cannot dictate conditions to India.

8212; T.T. Krishnan On e-mail

8226; Apropos of the Srinagar-Muzaffarbad bus service, why is India willing to bend over backwards and forget all legal requirements to accommodate travellers from an enemy country? Why should Pakistan have objections to the Indian stamp on visitors8217; documents? By insisting on the J038;K government8217;s stamp, Pakistan wants to tip the balance in its own favour in any future negotiations. Indian negotiators should stay alert to this ploy.

8212; Mukesh Patel New York

Bangladesh8217;s fault

8226; Kuldip Nayar finds Bangladesh turning increasingly anti-Indian 8216;Diplomacy won8217;t hurt8217;, IE, Feb 14. He then looks to see how he can blame India. It is very hard to overcome communal biases and hatreds. The Bangladesh government is turning increasingly fundamentalist. For that, the fault lies solely with its myopic, corrupt and bigoted leadership.

8212; Gopal Vaidya New Delhi

In Iraq, reach out

8226; Now that the Shi8217;ite bloc has won Iraq8217;s first election since Saddam Hussein8217;s overthrow, the biggest responsibility for establishing equity and political propriety lies with it. Buoyed by the results, it must offer gestures reflecting inclusiveness and cooperation to other parties 8212; specifically to the Sunni Arab group. If this is not done, insecurity will inevitably spread in the Sunni regions and cause tensions within Iraq. Having crossed the first hurdle 8212; ie, the elections 8212; all the political parties must now gear up themselves up for the second and perhaps most critical stage 8212; the drafting and implementation of a people-centric constitution.

8212; Gaurav Dua Delhi