Communalism

THE articles in the Cover Story on communalism brought out how the countrys minority communities are being alienated (Communal fire, September 26). Will the perpetrators of the ongoing violence against Christians go scot-free only because they belong to the majority community?

Anuraga Patna* * *

THE Cover Story article Project Orissa was informative and thought-provoking. The massacre that Asoka witnessed in the Kalinga war made him renounce violence and assert that justice does not mean the rule of might. The recent communal happenings are a part of a larger conspiracy to undermine the Constitution of India and the rule of law and to destroy the secular fabric of society.

Abdul Wasay Bhagalpur, Bihar* * *

THE Cover Story exposed the hidden agenda of the Hindutva forces to divide society along communal lines.

Dr. Kuruvilla Varkey Oddanchatram, Tamil Nadu* * *

THE Bajrang Dals attacks on churches in Karnataka, allegedly provoked by the publication of a pamphlet, were senseless (Now Karnataka, October 10). There are bound to be things in every religion that may be considered unpleasant by some people. The Vedas and the Bible discourage idolatry, yet it is rampantly practised in Hinduism and Christianity. Just as forced conversion is bad, restraining change in faith by the use of force is equally bad. There are bound to be many good aspects in all religions at a higher spiritual realm. Therefore, it should be left to the individuals to discern the truth.

S.R. Devaprakash Tumkur, Karnataka* * *

THE acts of vandalism deserve to be condemned. It is shocking that the Karnataka government has turned a deaf ear to the violence inflicted upon innocent people. Its silence on the whole episode of violence is a sort of consent given to the extremist forces, which have been making a mockery of the law and order.

Bhushan K. Chaudhary New Delhi* * *

MINORITIES, whether linguistic, religious or racial, always find themselves cornered. In this hour of crisis, there is no alternative to patience and tolerance. As Jawaharlal Nehru aptly said, the only alternative to co-existence is co-destruction.

N. Krishnamurthy New DelhiCold War

A.G. NOORANIS review article A new Cold War? was right on target (October 10). Condoleezza Rice once suggested that the Non-Aligned Movement had no importance in todays world. But it is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation that the United States should seek to dismantle, and not NAM.

S. Mohanty CuttackTerrorism

SOME happenings in the world in the past few years have shown that terrorism does not achieve anything (Short on strategy, October 10). The history of terrorism everywhere shows how self-defeating it is. Movements that lean on terror always suffer humiliating setbacks in the end. This is inevitable because terrorists establish themselves as enemies of the people when they cause the spilling of innocent blood.

Prem Nizar Hameed Riyadh, Saudi Arabia* * *

THE serial blasts in Delhi on September 13 prove that terrorists can attack anywhere in India and at any time. There is no political will to combat terrorism. The terrorists network must be destroyed.

Mahesh Kumar New Delhi* * *

THERE is no doubt that terrorism is the most important threat the country faces today. But the response of the government and its agencies is shameful.

As pointed out by Bhaskar Ghosh, there are pronouncements of red alerts (Living with terror, October 10). R.K. Raghavan correctly says that the present status of law-enforcement agencies is hardly satisfactory.

To make things worse, these agencies are always making foolish mistakes. Why should they parade the terrorists arrested during the Jamia Nagar encounter in Arabic scarves? There are tall claims whenever someone is caught, which fall flat with the next terror attack. Such mistakes only prevent people from coming to the aid of the police.

Nutan Thakur LucknowBihar floods

IF the floods in Bihar are indeed an annual affair, what prevented the authorities from learning lessons from the floods of previous years (A snake in knots, September 26)?

Arvind K. Pandey AllahabadThe Netherlands

WE have a lot to learn from the Netherlands, a nation with a much smaller population than ours but nevertheless far ahead of most of other nations in agricultural and dairy production (Innovative Dutch, October 10). What is even more creditable is that they are not ruining the environment in the way most other nations are. The innovative Dutch truly deserve a big applause.

Amitabh Thakur Lucknow