Opinion Carry on
The views of the Pakistani officials are thought-provoking.
The views of the Pakistani officials are thought-provoking (With a thumbs-up,guess who holds India hand? Pak,IE,September 27). The delay in constructing CWG infrastructure is being magnified. Our own media too doesnt lag behind in negative presentations. India has successfully hosted the Asian Games in the past. No participant raised any doubt about our capability. But now an Australian official has said India shouldnt have been given the chance. Its rightly pointed out by the Pakistani official that such criticisms are born out of their superiority complex.
V. Rajagopalan
New Delhi
Kashmir normal
This refers to Centre announces 8-point initiative for Kashmir (IE,September 25) and Few students turn up as Valley schools re-open (IE,September 28). As expected,separatists have trashed the 8-point formula,alleging its too little,too late. There have been some stray incidents of stone-pelting,but by and large the Valley appears to have responded favourably to the initiative. Hopefully,the situation has turned a corner. The Centre will do well to appoint a respected heavyweight as interlocutor who can win the trust of the people as against the trouble-mongers who are Pakistans proxies in the Valley.
R.J. Khurana Bhopal
Some limits
Theres a burning need for transparent finance in rural areas and a need to eradicate the fleecing of poor individuals by money lenders (By the rich,for the poor,IE,September 27). However,one sincerely doubts whether the free-market economics the writer describes (large market,leading to many players and hence lowering of prices) will work out in this context. As rightly mentioned,a one-to-one correspondence is often required by MFIs. Traditionally,initiatives in these sectors have failed because of a lack of infrastructure and other communication facilities. Itll be some time before this sector opens up in a true sense and,till then,the government will be loathe to let market players decide interest rates. Of course,the ceiling method should never be used to determine what rates MFIs set. At the same time,there should be some semblance of a limit for these businesses,as exist for other organisations in the public domain.
Govindraj Umarji
Whats soft power?
Its quite baffling to see a legion of writers and journalists think that Indias so-called soft power will create an ocean of goodwill everywhere. Do they expect mediocre Bollywood movies and lousy soap operas to produce the desired effect?Its not as if China is walking in and bullying people with the carrot and stick policy. China is also an equally ancient civilisation and is surely buttressing its hardcore investments with cultural bonding too. India has already missed the bus in Africa and this is being repeated elsewhere. Part of the reason lies in our myopic view of people of other races and cultures.
Anoop H. Bangalore
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