Letters to the editor

The problem did not develop overnight. Poaching is not a new phenomenon, but the poachers have become better connected and more tech-savvy than ever before, making the lackadaisically managed tiger reserves easy picking. The report says that the tiger is close to extinction and the area in which it lives has been nearly halved in the last 10 years.

What is at stake is the survival of our flora and fauna. As the latest tiger count shows, intelligent and effective action is urgent to save this magnificent beast on the planet.

— Probir Bose

New Panvel

Cricketers’ peers

•This refers to your editorial ‘Million-dollar men’ . Cricket has almost become an obsession with the young and old alike and Team India deserve all praise for their recent wins. We have set precedents in Test and one-day matches in Australia. M.S. Dhoni is the best captain India have produced so far.

At the same time, it has been observed that cricket is the only game that is getting extraordinary attention. All other cricketing countries equally promote other games like football, tennis, volleyball, basketball and hockey; all games have their own charm and significance.

It is time the government promoted all sports on an equal footing.

— K.P. Udayabhanu

New Delhi

High fidelity

•Ultimately, Cuba’s hero

Fidel Castro calls it a day. It seems that he was wedded to revolution. Therefore, he announced that he would continue his struggle for the very cause of his people even as he stepped down as Cuba’s president and commander of the armed forces. Phoenix-like, he survived his difficulties and practised his own saying: “An ability to forge victory from defeat.”Castro will remain for ever in the minds and hearts of the people of Cuba.

— Afaq Ahmad Aligarh

And its lows

•Fidel Castro’s legacy will survive, like that of his colleague, Che Guevara, as a romanticised hero, who could not deliver. Castro was an absolute failure, politically and economically. Like all dictators, from Stalin to Saddam, Castro was doomed to failure.

— Rajendra K. Aneja Dubai

New way

•The editorial ‘More than Musharraf’ably analyses the scenario in Pakistan today. I feel the outcome of the election is a turning point in Pakistan’s chequered trysts with democracy and military rule. Most Pakistanis have voted for the moderate parties, shattering the myth which Musharraf had constructed around himself as Pakistan’s strongman that, without him at the helm, the country is up for a fundamentalist takeover. Democratic forces must band together in the larger interest of the people of Pakistan and bury their differences. If civilian politicians fall out among themselves, that would give the military an excuse to muscle in again.Such derailing of democratic civilian forces in the past was responsible for the present torments. If that happens again, it will be much worse and dangerous. I think, in the present circumstances army chief Ashfaq Kayani’s role gains immense importance and Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif should work together amicably and without acrimony.

— Vitull K. Gupta Bathinda