The NDA says that while it still holds that all must accept the verdict of the judiciary on Ayodhya, it “prefers a negotiated settlement” because our judicial process is slow. Some questions arise. One, what if a settlement is negotiated but the judicial verdict goes counter to that settlement? Two, in the negotiations, who will represent Hindus and who will represent Muslims? Neither side has an electoral college or elected leaders. Each side has many religious leaders often arrayed against one another. Will lung power decide, or the presence of the words “Hindu” and “Muslim” in the names of organisations? Three, all negotiation includes the use of pressure. Might the NDA’s preference for negotiation be a result of its inability to pressure the courts and its demonstrated ability to pressure the other side? Four, negotiations conducted in, to quote the NDA’s resolution, “an atmosphere of communal peace, mutual trust and goodwill”, must involve give and take. Have we not seen already that one side at least can take but cannot give? — Mukul Dube New Delhi Truth will out • Apropos of Pamela Philipose’s ‘How Falluja fell off the map’ (IE, November 17), truth cannot be imprisoned or blown off the surface of the earth. Ultimately the world will know what happened at Falluja. TV images have showed us the brutality of the aerial bombardment and ground attacks by the army on the insurgents holed up in the city. 1,200 Iraqis are reported killed in the week-long offensive on Falluja. The ferocious bombardment was brutal that could have killed civilians, children and infants in their hundreds, besides the insurgents. — Arvind Amin On e-mail Hole in the law • In the case of the Kanchi Shankaracharya, by all means, let the court decide what the truth is. It is a different matter whether the court rulings can boast of an impregnable integrity. And then there are the numerous instances where police created evidence to suit their political bosses. — Kris Hyderabad Don’t stop • Let us pray that the Kanchi Shankaracharya’s case is not white washed later on, as usually happens in all VIP cases. The Tamil Nadu government deserves all the credit for the daring step. — M.C. Garg Delhi Can I complain? • What does an average citizen do to complain about the menace of stray dogs when all the leading newspapers in Delhi form a body and issue a statement that those who do not find the company of stray dogs exhilarating are lacking in human sympathy? A walk in any residential colony would manifest the constant fear of unintentionally annoying the dogs and getting the dog bite. It is impossible to permit young children from running about in the colonies without dogs running after them. Dog lovers offer solace by suggesting that after dogs have been immunised, though they may cause serious bodily harm by biting, we will not die — what a colossal relief to the silly victims. Incidentally, there were over 250 dog bite cases and some children even died. I suppose those victims are deserving of sympathy from dog lovers. Could they also not extend their sympathy to the orphaned street children stranded in our cities? — Rajindar Sachar New Delhi
