Waiting to begin

Two months after their ship was hijacked by Somali pirates, five of the Indian sailors reached Mumbai safe and sound.

8226; Two months after their ship was hijacked by Somali pirates, five of the Indian sailors reached Mumbai safe and sound. Their return was very relieving, but we still don8217;t have all of the sailors back. There8217;s news that another hijacked ship has Indians on board. We8217;ll not be out of harm8217;s way till governments put in place a security mechanism to rid the high seas of piracy. But even as we chase pirates into Somalia8217;s territorial waters, it must be remembered that Somalia doesn8217;t have a functioning government to speak of, a situation which compounds the navies8217; problem.

8212; Mohd Mubarak Ranchi

Truth, not torture

8226; This refers to the editorial 8216;Talk it out8217;. The argument about security and civilised debate is timely. Mainstream national parties are already unanimous on rooting out terrorism. Nevertheless, one must stress that torture in custody, whether of Islamist or Hindu 8220;terrorists8221;, is unacceptable. Instead of trading charges, BJP and Congress should talk to each other regularly on terror and intelligence. The PM judiciously spoke to L.K. Advani on the Malegaon blasts accused. He must now clear the air on the charges of torture.

8212; Parimal Y. Mehta Mumbai

Citizens8217; watch

8226; This refers to the article 8216;The polls and the polis8217;. The formation of public fora such as the National Election Watch is a welcome step. For long we have lamented our politics. In the process, a lot of productive time was lost. Our fault was to believe that politicians would be selfless guardians of the state. But man is perhaps indeed wicked by nature. So it is heartening to see our ideas are changing to admit reality and cope with it. The democratisation of the election process is a good place to start, with the gradual injection of more and more vigilance into the system.

8212; Rajeev Kumar New Delhi

Roads we travel

8226; It is in times of crisis that a government8217;s character is judged. The downturn presents an opportunity to the UPA. The NDA8217;s development initiative under the Golden Quadrilateral project and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, if given an extraordinary push by the UPA right now, will stave off a prolonged recession. Infrastructure projects have a great potential for maximising employment opportunity and catalysing development in related sectors. For this, the NHA should pay attention to systemic improvement. The technical and bureaucratic aspects will certainly be helped by inter-party cooperation during the December session of Parliament.

8212; H.R.B. Satyanarayana Anand

Too optimistic, FM

8226; P. Chidambaram may believe that the 8220;worst is over8221;. Statistics may show a decline in inflation but prices of most essentials remain high, except those of vegetables. And that last is due to seasonal changes and rains. Highly paid professionals and businessmen may not feel the pinch despite the crisis, but it is the aam admi who will keep struggling with his small and declining income.

8212; K.L. Khandekar Vadodara