• This refers to ‘Pokharan’s PM slams deal: Not on’ (IE, July 21). Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has correctly stated that it is we who must assess our requirements at all times and not be guided or dictated by others. Indian scientists and defence forces should not be cowed down by other powers with vested interests and ulterior motives. — V. Krishnan Chennai • It is time we woke up to the fact that while we believe nuclear capability will minimise the threat to our security, the world sees us as a threat because of this capability. If the wild boasts of BJP leaders when they were in government, Madan Lal Khurana and Pramod Mahajan amongst the prime examples, are any indicator, the threat perception of the world is justified. Old politicians with signs of growing senility should fade away. — Shekhar K. Mumbai Answer this • I have some questions for Chetan Dhruve (‘Learn social justice from US Inc’, IE, July 22). What’s his advice to children who score 95 per cent and above and are still denied admission to a good college because their crime was to be born in an upper caste? Is he saying that the American affirmative action programme has the same effects as the reservation system in India — will a child be denied admission in America despite scoring 95 per cent? Does he mean that if not for reservations/special privileges, Indians would not have shone in the US? — Ram Suj Los Angeles • How many generations of a family should be allowed to utilise these “opportunities”? I know a few families, financially robust, that misuse these opportunities. Can Indian institutions handle such large scale give-aways of “opportunities”? — Ravi On e-mail • The writer demeans the achievement of the Indian immigrant community that braved all odds to become successful in the US. He must understand that Indians are working the most advanced technology in the US unlike other immigrants. And how do we explain the success of Indians in other countries where there is no reservation or affirmative action? — Pratap Hyderabad • Actually, Indians, Japanese Americans and Jews are considered among the forward groups in the US. The Hispanics and African Americans benefit from affirmative action. Affirmative action is nowhere as stifling as it is in India where every sector, including post graduate education, is permeated by it, at times reaching ridiculous levels like 60 per cent of the seats. Truly, there is need for education and upliftment of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. But where and when are we going to draw the line, is the question. — Avinash Venkata Detroit Keep out politics • Harsha Bhogle's‘Selectors trapped in the corridor of uncertainty’ (IE, July 22) is spot-on. If there’s one thing Indians do well, it is to “dig a hole” for themselves. India has shown that it has the talent and the potential, if only politics could be kept out. One needs look no further than Australia to see how to develop the game and pick up the side. — Wilfred D’Mello Melbourne
