Poll-ward bound

• The editorial ‘Powell signals’ (IE, March 18) is a refreshing break from the past, in that it s...

• The editorial ‘Powell signals’ (IE, March 18) is a refreshing break from the past, in that it studiously avoids any reference to Pakistan, cross-border terrorism or the tiresome ‘K’ word — the hors d’oeuvres of media comments whenever there is a visiting dignitary from the US. It reflects a growing recognition that India and Pakistan can manage their affairs on their own from now on. It has been rightly remarked that Indo-US relations have “acquired a certain level of stability”. One might add: a certain level of maturity too, which will go a long way in tackling temporary irritants like ‘‘outsourcing’’, for instance. The reference to the current election atmosphere in both countries brings to mind a remark attributed to Winston Churchill: ‘‘The problem with democracies is that you’re always having elections, and nothing can be done until after an election.’’ Hopefully, all such disputes will be resolved on a win-win basis soon after the elections.

— K. R. Rangaswamy On e-mail

Reality checks

• What Thomas Friedman has conveyed in his six-part series on the new economy in India must serve as a real eye-opener for American readers (‘B’lore gets a 6-pack plug in the NYT’, IE, March 17). Well done.

— Ramesh C. Patel On e-mail

Blank posters

• Your editorial ‘Veiling Vajpayee’ (March 18) has raised some pertinent questions and has rightly pointed out that parties like the Congress that now fault the NHAI for promoting Prime Minister Vajpayee in its hoardings forget that they too, when in power, have been guilty of appending the names of their leaders to various government projects and programmes, roads and localities. At present a number of states are ruled by non-NDA parties. Having ordered the removal of NHAI hoardings, in a way to provide a “level playing field”, it becomes the responsibility of the Election Commission to see that similar action is taken in each and every case relating to the state governments throughout the country. Can the EC do it?

— M.C. Joshi On e-mail

On Dada

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• It will be interesting to know the batting averages of Saurav Ganguly against quality teams over the last year. There has to be a certain level of consistency in a top order batsman. It is missing in Ganguly. Thus, he must consider sitting out a few matches.

— Bhaskar Balan On e-mail

• We Indians are very inconsistent in our prescriptions. Tomorrow, if Saurav Ganguly scores a ton or bowls well, people will start commenting that he is the best captain in the world. We should not judge any player on his poor performance in one or two games. I believe he has proved to be the most capable captain India has ever had.

— Pinaki On e-mail

It’s timing

• Pakistan is a master at diplomacy (‘24 killed in anti-Qaeda operation’, IE, March 18). Look how Pakistan has managed to focus the spotlight on its military offensive on the Afghan border to coincide with US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to the subcontinent.

— Suresh Sheth On e-mail