• Whenever there are initiatives like the one witnessed at Islamabad, there is media hype. Too much importance is given to what could happen, too many expectations are raised. Given the history of the failure of talks between India and Pakistan, why can’t we just go and sit at a table without any mental blocks? Leaders should not forget that one bad decision can destroy the lives of millions. It took one judgment of partition to put millions in trouble, cause three wars and unleash never-ending disputes. Just one good decision means a lot. So leaders should not worry about time limits. We can sit five, ten times even, to come up with the right solutions. — Ashish Kumar Panda New Delhi Common foreign policy? • A common currency for South Asia would achieve a great deal within a short period as it opens borders. In addition to SAFTA, the foreign policy of SAARC nations should also be common—for better diplomatic ties and prosperity. — Ramesh Chhabra On e-mail Dangerous links • No matter what Pakistan’s officials end up saying, the statements by the North Korea and Libyan authorities with hints coming from Iran are clear indications of the threat Pakistan has always been to the world peace (‘Gadaffi’s son confirms Pakistan nuke link’, IE, January 5). I see this as nothing new because I know for a fact that those who trust countries like Pakistan end up repenting taking the peace initiative. — Anil Prakash Pande On e-mail They are patriots • This refers to the news item, ‘Army gets go-ahead for Gujjar Scouts’ (IE, January 5). Let me first of all tell readers that Muslim Gujjars and the Bakarwal communities of J&K/Himachal Pradesh, are the same. It is good news that the government has woken up from its deep slumber and recognised Gujjars as patriotic Indians. The government should give them weapons and intelligence training and they should be taught their historical background and their close ties with Hindu Gujjars. Some border areas should be named after Gujjars. For instance, Bandipora can be renamed as Gujjarpora. — Harish Gurjar On e-mail Political gymnastics • Apropos of the report, ‘Pawar flirts with Sena-BJP, meets Advani’ (IE, January 7). Come elections and political parties in the name of coalition politics and realignments, do all sorts of “gymnastics” just to be in or near power! They tend to forget all the principles which they stood for until yesterday. They also don’t care about the electorate who brought them to their current position and who believed in them and their policies. — R.L. Raichandani On e-mail Steve vs Saurav • Everybody calls it the Aust-India series, but I call it the Steve vs Saurav series: the Final Showdown. The Indian team didn’t win the series, but Saurav definitely won the contest. I hope all those critics who have been getting on his case, take time to kick themselves in the rear end for their stupidity! — Arun Prakash On e-mail
