The gender plank

8226; When will the women of this country stand up for themselves? This time there are quite a few women candid...

8226; When will the women of this country stand up for themselves? This time there are quite a few women candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections and one wonders whether they are going to address issues like domestic violence, infanticide, uniform civil code, or whether they will be content with being glamour dolls.
Women in India are subject to all kinds of atrocities and most of the crimes perpetuated against them are gender-specific. For instance, widowhood is still considered a stigma among large sections of the population 8212; they consider a widow inauspicious, indicating an irrational mindset. Why are these issues not being raised by women candidates?

8212; Chinki Sinha On e-mail

Desert hierarchy

8226; The United States has promised the Indian government that it would look into the issue of Indians being mistreated in Iraq 8216;Hard times8217;, IE, May 6. It is a known fact that the US wanted Indian personnel to serve in Iraq. With India having categorically refused to get involved in Iraq, under American control, the best way that America could use Indians was by using underhand means such as these.
It is strange that the US denies any knowledge of Indians working in Iraq, when it is virtually the sole authority in Iraq. While the US is reluctant to offer contracts for rebuilding Iraq to countries like India, it expects them to send troops so that US casualties are reduced. This really speaks volumes about the double standards of the US in its so-called 8220;war against terrorism8221;.

8212; G. Anand Mumbai

After the war

8226; The sustained Iraqi resistance in various cities only shows that the US and its allies were never welcome in Iraq, as US neo-conservatives might like people to believe. The increasing coordination reported between Shia and Sunni resistance fighters is also a strong rebuttal to American attempts to divide the country along sectarian lines. It had been overtly trying to woo Shias at the cost of Sunnis
Americans have responded with the use of excessive force to subdue the revolt, which reminds one of the tactics used by Saddam Hussein to quell the Shias of Basra after the First Gulf War. With its recent actions, the US has lost the moral ground that it claimed to have in Iraq.
With elections round the corner and falling popularity ratings of President Bush and his war on Iraq, the US administration rightly finds itself in a quandary.

8212; Mohamad Junaid On e-mail

Penalty corner

8226; I feel sorry for Dhanraj Pillay who is a victim of the unfair policies of the Indian Hockey Federation. A player of his calibre would make any eleven. But K.P.S. Gill and his associates are trying out players who would last for 70 minutes and lose rather than give a chance to experienced players like Dhanraj who are fit and can change the match singlehandedly within minutes.

8212; Satish Bhojane On e-mail

8226; We can never get a hockey medal in the Olympics with this kind of an attitude by the national selectors. Given their approach, we should not waste money on sending anybody to the the Olympic games in Athens!

8212; Varghese Cherian On e-mail