Opinion In the fast lane

— Bal Govind,Noida

From the pulpit

* Apropos the editorial ‘Ageing drinkers’ (IE,September 16),there can be many arguments about the minimum legal age for drinking. What’s worrying about the Maharashtra government’s decision to raise the minimum age from 21 to 25 years is the state’s unnecessary penchant for acting like Big Brother. This is true especially in culture and leisure — from restrictions and bans on books and films to the shutting down of dance bars. The government must realise that the right way to address most of these issues is through value education and social awareness.

— Rajashree Pande,Mumbai

Volte-face

* Narendra Modi’s penchant for playing to the gallery never ceases to please his admirers and displease his detractors (‘Fast turnaround’,IE,September 15). His decision to go on a fast to “strengthen Gujarat’s environment of peace,unity and harmony” has already been ridiculed by his critics. Very conveniently,his 2002 statement,“every action has an equal and opposite reaction”,seems to have been replaced by the new one,“hate is never conquered by hate”.

This about-turn,from strongly advocating the cause of Hindutva to going on a fast to foster national unity and harmony,though baffling,is commendable. Or,maybe he has realised that he has no future in national politics by remaining a Hindutva poster boy and has thus decided to chant the development mantra that has spelt progress in Gujarat.

— Pachu Menon,Goa

Missing the goal

* Hockey’s woes are many (‘Too many self-goals’,IE,September 16). It never gets the attention and the media coverage that cricket does. The Federation of International Hockey took away a major event like the Champions Trophy from India because of the presence of two federations. When the tournament kicks off in South Africa later this year,we can only rue that Delhi has lost a chance to shine as a sporting city. The fight between the Indian Hockey Federation and Hockey India needs to be sorted for the game’s sake.

— Sajan Gupta,Mohali

Then and now

* In the 1960s and 1970s,high inflation used to be accompanied by the scarcity of commodities (‘Tightening up’,IE,September 16). One could attribute that to supply-side constraints. However,inflation nowadays seems to coexist with adequate availability of commodities for a sufficiently large number of people,who seem able to afford them at high prices. So,the market seems to be able to absorb increasing prices and thus sustain high inflation. However,a worrying concern is that this is possibly pushing the poorer out of the market.

— K. Kavitha,Thane