• I am saddened to read the story of Gurnihal Singh Pirzada, ‘Seshan’s right, we’re a tribe of prostitutes, says Pirzada’ (IE, February 18). A dedicated IAS officer being treated like this! Is the police only an instrument in the hands of corrupt politicians? What will happen to India? — Vinay Soni On e-mail Good things • Recent developments in Indian politics are really heartening. P.A. Sangma refusing to accept Sonia Gandhi as PM and Maneka and Varun Gandhi joining the BJP set the tone for the greatest phase of upheaval. These developments tell us we can trust our politicians. It is time for the nation to stand as one behind Vajpayee. He has shown his mettle and is set to become one of the all time greats of the subcontinent. — Naveena C.K. On e-mail Irresponsible, all • Revelations about Pakistan’s nuclear dealings with North Korea, Libya and Iran highlight the irresponsible behaviour of nuclear weapons states (NWSs). The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) strongly condemns these activities by Pakistan. But involvement in proliferation activities, as recipient or provider, is no less reprehensible even when civilian governments fully control such dealings. This is true of past collaborat- ion between Russia and China, the US and UK, China and Pakistan, India and US/ Canada, France and Israel, Israel and apartheid South Africa, the condoning by the US of Israel and Pakistan’s nuclear programmes, or India’s keenness to collaborate with the US and Israel on nuclear matters. To divide NWSs into responsible and irresponsible states is absurd. All are irresponsible in different ways and degrees. There is only one path to nuclear sanity — steady progress towards regional and global disarmament, not selective condemnation or hypocritical posturing by NWSs’ elites. — Kamal Chenoy Delhi Mirror for Aiyar • This refers to Mani Shankar Aiyar’s ‘Shooting the Bofors blank’ (IE, February 18). We can well appreciate Aiyar’s frothing at the mouth over accusations against Rajiv over Bofors. But before he points fingers at the NDA, he must answer two questions: one, didn’t Rajiv say in Parliament that no commission was paid to anyone in the deal? Two, in the matter of apologies, why not start with Aiyar’s friend and colleague, Jaipal Reddy, who railed long and loud against Rajiv’s hand in this deal? — Ashok Gupta On e-mail • These are the rantings of a desperate man. The article starts with some underhand comments against the current PM and DPM, goes on to throw dirt at the two Aruns, calls Narasimha Rao pussillanimous and ends with a forecast that Vajpayee is not coming back to power. Aiyar should be demanding an apology from the same people with whom his party president is having lunches, teas and dinners. Hope names like V.P. Singh, Laloo Yadav, Somnath Chatterjee ring a few bells. — Vijay Kumar On e-mail About women • Apropos of ‘Reforms are for Muslims, not for Islam’ (IE, February 14), it is the discriminatory prescription the Muslim people follow which may split the followers down the middle between men and women. Globalisation accompanied by information technology and free communication will accelerate gender conflict. — Prafull Goradia New Delhi
