• This refers to your editorial ‘Dialogue dilemmas’ (IE, February 26). It is astonishing that the human rights concern in Kashmir according to you belongs to the hardliners only. If the moderates speak up for human rights, they speak under pressure of the hardliners. Moulvi Abbas had very little to get from New Delhi in the first place, but he still gave it a chance. The much hyped “yes, you are right” approach is typical of every Indian leader in any negotiations with Kashmiris right from Nehru’s days and not of L.K. Advani alone. Advani did tell his uniformed men to show restraint after 15 years of bloodshed, but the so called ‘‘order’’ seems to be for the consumption of the media alone. The refusal of the Indian media to give coverage to the human rights violations in Kashmir does not mean that everything is fine on that front. Hurriyat has every right to take the best decision in this regard. I wish the media in India was independent of government policies. — Shuja On e-mail Debate, please • Will the one-sided campaign on the IIM fees issue by our media stop now or are you going to say that the Supreme Court has got it wrong? As in the past, when the SC’s decision goes according to the line taken by the media it is hailed as the correct decision and when it goes against, it is criticised. Do you think we can be fooled all the time? Why this trial of M.M. Joshi by the media? Don’t we deserve a constructive debate instead? — Ashish Athalye Mumbai Balanced Atal • Sanjaya Baru's article on ‘Vajpayee’s Nehruism’ (IE, February 25), was on the mark in evaluating Vajpayee’s leadership style. Although this prime minister has been cut from a completely different cloth, India’s prime minister emphasises the need for a balanced approach in governing India. — Kirtidev Bhatt On e-mail Indians first • Saeed Naqvi focuses on caste and religion and almost comes to the right conclusion at the end of ‘Muslims need a new compass’ (IE, February 27). The right conclusion is that when they vote, Muslims should think of themselves as Indians first. They should not consider caste and religion and ignore “leaders” who offer such advice. As Indians, they should weigh local and national benefits and make their choice. — Arun Patel On e-mail And Sonia? • Apropos of ‘Hema, Meena, Deeka.’ (IE, February 27), I would like to ask Pamela Philipose to comment on the abilities of Sonia Gandhi who has been aspiring for the country’s top job. — V. Prasad On e-mail Lack of goodwill • I am a Pakistani and it is very sad to see how the Pakistan Cricket Board is being pushed to accept the conditions of the BCCI. You think venues in India never have crowd related problems? There really seems to be a lack of goodwill on the Indian part for this trip. Please visit Pakistan as a welcome guest. If you do not want to go, just decline gracefully. Do not insult your host. — Azam Khan On e-mail
