Opinion Issue statement

— Vijay D. Patil Pune

* Indo-Pak equations are changing. Business interests have begun to edge out long-simmering issues between the two neighbours. Pakistan’s army chief talking of demilitarisation of Siachen is a welcome sign,however distant that maybe in getting translated into practice. CBMs will be meaningless if it not accompanied by pragmatic statesmanship.

— R. Narayanan Ghaziabad

Defence projectile

* This refers to ‘Missile Muscle’ (IE,April 20). DRDO scientists and engineers deserve a pat on the back for successfully launching Agni V,a long-range ballistic missile with a range of 5,000 km. This must have sent the right signals to China. With Agni V,we have joined an elite club of countries.

— Deepak Chikramane Mumbai

States of the Union

* Apropos the editorial ‘Noise,not news’ (IE,April 19),chief ministers from non-Congress parties seem to rail against the NCTC more out of their propensity to stall anything proposed by the UPA than out of an understanding of the matter. Their fears that the NCTC will encroach upon the states’ rights may have some element of truth and the Centre should not have taken the states for granted on this issue. But the inclination of non-Congress states to stonewall the Centre’s every policy is not good politics. National security should supersede one-upmanship.

— Tarsem Singh New Delhi

Manto the brave

* This refers to ‘One hundred years of Manto’ (IE,April 20). D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover was accused of being obscene but what perturbed the British society then was how it challenged the mores of the time,by narrating a sexual relationship between an aristocratic woman and a working class man. Similarly,the charges of vulgarity against Manto were not so much about the sexual content of his writings as about the challenge to the social norms that kept women subjugated.

— Ajay Tyagi Mumbai

Take care

* The collapse of a building in Jalandhar last week,resulting in the deaths of workers from Bihar and UP,points to the casual approach towards the safety of migrant workers. The Punjab government should give compensation to the kin of the deceased,and ensure that safety standards are maintained.

— Brij Bhushan Goyal Ludhiana