• Sumitra Patel was an innocent victim of HIV. Her husband died of AIDS in ’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. Sumitra’s relatives have violated her personal rights and freedom. Ignorance can be no excuse for murder. — Arvind Amin On e-mail Education undermined • 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 — throwing basic amenities like proper buildings with playgrounds, the promotion of extracurricular activities, and the like, to the winds. — K. Ravi Prasad On e-mail More roadblocks • This refers to the report,‘India drops passport demand but bus hits roadblock’ (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. — T.T. Krishnan On e-mail • 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 visitors’ documents? By insisting on the J&K government’s stamp, Pakistan wants to tip the balance in its own favour in any future negotiations. Indian negotiators should stay alert to this ploy. — Mukesh Patel New York Bangladesh’s fault • Kuldip Nayar finds Bangladesh turning increasingly anti-Indian (‘Diplomacy won’t hurt’, 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. — Gopal Vaidya New Delhi In Iraq, reach out • Now that the Shi’ite bloc has won Iraq’s first election since Saddam Hussein’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 — 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 — ie, the elections — all the political parties must now gear up themselves up for the second and perhaps most critical stage — the drafting and implementation of a people-centric constitution. — Gaurav Dua Delhi
