•Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s article on Kosovo, ‘As easy as Kosovo’, is wrong on almost all counts. Kosovo’s declaration of independence does not set any international precedents. It is an exclusively regional, European issue. Indeed, the US-EU policy to back Kosovo’s independence removes the country from UN trusteeship to EU responsibility, thereby bypassing the question of international precedents. Second, what is so justifiable about Russia’s taking offence? This is not the Cold War. Russia’s security is not threatened in any way, and Kosovo is not a significant blip in Russia’s long existential battle with Europe. Far more important is US missile defence in central Europe, which does set a strategic boundary between Europe and Russia.What is of serious concern is the impact on Bosnia, Macedonia and Serbia. As our media has not covered the Kosovo developments, we do not know what consultations there were or are on how to deal with the Serbian irredentist threat in Bosnia, which has already claimed Kosovo as a precedent, or the less major but possibly longer-term Albanian irredentist threat in Macedonia. Finally, Mehta concedes that the Serbian nationalist leadership had indulged in crimes against humanity, but suggests that the new Serbian leadership could have reached a negotiated settlement on Kosovo. Has he forgotten that the previous Serbian leader who attempted to do so was assassinated, in 2003? — Radha KumarNew DelhiBJP’s nuke spin•This refers to the news item ‘Too late for deal, but we are natural allies'. L.K. Advani’s assurance to US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is an instance of doublespeak. His apprehension on the deal that it would end up with “India’s co-option to the nuclear non-proliferation regime” is unfounded and he knows that. The NDA government was almost ready to sign the CTBT and it was prepared to sign a much tougher deal if it was to be voted to power next time, for getting the international sanctions against India lifted. The real reason for opposition is it is “too late for n-deal”, which means the BJP does not want to give the credit of signing the nuclear deal to the Congress government. It is ready to harm the nation’s interest in its self-interest. As for the communists, their opposition to the nuclear deal is due to their congenital anti-Americanism of the Cold War days. They are dreaming of having a Third Front government after the next elections, which could be more dependent on them, so could be easily coerced by them. They care little about the country’s development, which in today’s world hinges on smarter energy-tapping. — N. Kunju DelhiBihar junction•This refers to your editorial ‘Faster, richer, farther’. You touch the heart of the matter when you say there is “political scheming in the form of minor concessions”. I, for one, have often wondered whether Lalu Prasad Yadav is Union railways minister for Bihar, because his idea of the country’s topography is nothing but political and parochial. He justifies his largesse to Bihar by maintaining that the state was neglected for many years. — M.K.D. Prasada Rao GhaziabadPlay hardball•India needs to learn how to play hardball in cricket. In the recent incident involving Ishant Sharma and Andrew Symonds, where Sharma was disciplined, the Indian team should have immediately filed a complaint against Symonds so that both the hearings could be held together. — S. Kamat Goa
