* I am saddened by the deaths of five soldiers at the hands of Pakistanis. Whether they were terrorists and/ or from the army is immaterial. The BJPs demand of a boycott of talks with Pakistan is foolish. The political class must show maturity and restraint in handling the situation. Unfortunately,neither the BJP nor the Congress has. The Congresss flip-flops on the issue are embarrassing. The only solution is for the two counties to sit across the table and talk. India must take advantage of Nawaz Sharifs offer to talk on the side lines of the UN General Assembly meet in September,where our PM should bring this incident up.
R.K. Kapoor
* Pakistani agents breaching the LoC and killing five Indian soldiers is a heinous and daring act. We must take serious action. Pakistan is not worthy of our friendship anymore. First the mutilation of Indian soldiers in January and now this. We need to act now,before Pakistan tries this again.
Harsh Shukla
Ulhasnagar
Voice of reason
* With the death of Air Commodore (retd) Jasjit Singh,the security and strategic affairs community has lost one of its most honest voices of reason. Listening to talking heads on foreign policy,one strongly feels the absence of Singh and the legendary K. Subrahmanyam,who passed away two years ago. While both were part of the establishment at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses,both were always questioning the establishment,and themselves too. I recall,with pride,when as an official of the Embassy of India in Sweden,I accompanied Singh to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in 1998 and had the privilege of listening to him.
C.R. Bain
Common heritage
* We were dismayed by the news that the National Commission for Minorities wants the government to allow the offering of prayers in mosques that are under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India and where no namaz has been offered for decades (Minorities panel wants monuments re-opened to namaz,ASI worried,IE,August 5). This has dangerous implications. There are several instances where the original features of protected monuments have been tampered with after they were opened up for namaz. If this proposal is pushed through,it is bound to snowball into other religious groups demanding similar concessions; how will the government then stop Hindus from demanding the right of worship in,for example,the Kandariya Mahadev temple at Khajuraho? What will stop the demand for religion-based appointment of ASI staff at these sites? Further,what of sites where primary religious ownership is difficult to establish such as the Bhoj Shala in Dhar? In the interest of communal harmony and our common heritage,such a demand must not be granted.
B.M. Pande,
K.K. Muhammed Delhi
