Letters to the editor

Letter of the Week

• It’s unfair on your part to state, as you have in your editorial, ‘1942-47’ (IE, August 23), that Left postures are inspired or dictated by the national interests of other countries. Communists, not only in India but elsewhere, were at the forefront of the freedom struggle. There is no doubt that communists, who were part of the Congress, had declined to support the Quit

India call. But there is also ample evidence to suggest that even Gandhi and Nehru considered Hitler a greater threat than the British Empire. As for the communist stance on the

Chinese aggression, they merely stated that it was difficult to prove that China was the first to launch the aggression. Blindly supporting one’s own country’s aggressive policies should not be the criterion for judging patriotism. Millions of Americans publicly opposed the US aggression on Iraq and Vietnam yet nobody, not even President Bush, has described them as traitors. The RSS, too, did not participate in the freedom struggle. Should we treat it as an organisation of anti-nationals?

Deal wreckers all

• The Congress-Left joint statement (deal?) is anything but an agreement, because each party is giving it its own interpretation. What is on display is pseudo-Machiavellianism. Yes, pseudo-Machiavellianism because the non-Left allies of the Congress are for the postponement of elections. As for the Congress, it is putting on the appearances of a ‘stick in the mud’. It has bought a ‘turbulent peace’, because the Left could use the bulldozer any time. Right now the effort on the part of UPA leaders appears to be not only to ensure that elections are a distant prospect, but also to keep the bogeyman in the shape of the BJP out of the reach of power. As for the BJP, the less said about its sense of clarity, the better. It wants only to oppose everything the

Congress does. It does not even want to remember its own initiatives, such as the one that is now rocking the UPA.

— Prasad Malladi

Basivireddypeta, AP

Our big bang wait?

• Ajit Doval’s column (‘Needed: war on error’, August 30) apparently brings out the alarming situation of

India’s security system and the devastating threats facing us from terrorist groups. The lethargic and careless attitude of our police and public towards foreign nationals, especially those coming from Pakistan and Bangladesh, is to blame for these continued acts of terrorism. Look at the dilapidated metal detectors at stations, or the careless use of identity cards, and one gets a clear idea of the general laxity of security. What are we waiting for?

Another Parliament attack?

— Pranab Kumar Aich

New Delhi

Play down gore

• I was horrified to see a photograph of the Hyderabad explosion scene, showing a blood-bathed woman and her child (IE, August 26) on your front page. The blasts were, of course, ghastly acts of terror, and I strongly condemn them. However, I cannot understand the message you are seeking to convey by publishing these sickening pictures.

— K. Upadhyaya Howrah