Letters

Jehad without end

The stories brought into focus the causes and contexts of Islamist terrorism in India (Cover Story, January 27.) Despite what Islam truly preaches about jehad, which has nothing to do with violence but represents the struggle within oneself to become a better person, Muslim fundamentalists have misused it to launch terrorist attacks.

R.R. Sami Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu* * *

The investigative reports into a difficult subject like jehad needs to be highly appreciated as they have answered many questions relating to it.

S. Balakrishnan Jamshedpur, Jharkhand* * *

Kudos to the writers for their in-depth analyses of the problem. The people expect the governments concerned to mollify the ruffled feelings of ordinary Muslims and remove the suspicion in their minds - be it on the Godhra incident or the Babri Masjid demolition.

M.K. Rajagopalan ChennaiBolivia

The series on Latin America gives an enlightened view of the changes taking place in the region, which nobody could imagine even a decade ago ("Fire in the plains, fire in the mountains", January 27). In fact, after the fall of the Soviet Union some analysts had started predicting `the end of history'. Yet, within a decade, the socialist agenda has resurged in Latin America - first in Venezuela, then in Brazil, Uruguay, now in Bolivia and Chile and, maybe, in the near future, in Mexico and Nicaragua. Thus, along with Cuba, the seven sisters of Latin America will become a beacon light for the oppressed of the world and a `new history' of socialism will start taking shape.

In fact, the victories of Evo Morales in Bolivia and Michele Bachelet in Chile have avenged the killings of Che Guvera and Chilean President Slavadore Allende. History has completed a full circle, but the U.S. is still trying to kill the popular leaders of the toiling people of Latin America.

Prof. Chaman Lal Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

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The anatomy of the Bolivian political situation was excellent. Evo Morales came to power with the overwhelming majority and support of the Bolivian people. Now we have to see how the new government tackles the country's enormous problems.

Siddharth Kumar Varanasi* * *

Aijaz Ahmad's work is well-researched and inspiring. There is a natural alliance waiting to be formed between the leftists of India and those of South America.

Rakesh Khanna ChennaiCinema

Maithili Rao needs to be congratulated for her passionate review ("Bihar and Bollywood", January 27). I am convinced that, as rightly observed by the author, Bollywood has not explored the inner politics of Bihar. The only exception is Prakash Jha.

S.N. Surkund MumbaiMusic season

The article gave a graphic account of the music festival held annually in Chennai ("A month of music," January 27). There were times when our ears were glued to the radio, listening to the live broadcasts of "isai vizha" from the "All India Radio Madras Vanoli Nilayam". Gowri Ramnarayan's article made us nostalgic.

B. Phani Babu Pune* * *

The article on Zubin Mehta gave a good account of the progressive efforts of a successful musician ("Brainwashed from the cradle", January 27).

B. Rajasekaran BangaloreCastiest murders

To hold castiest politics responsible for the mess in Bihar is to lose sight of the more important fact that the country's institutions have failed to liberate the masses from the stranglehold of the feudal classes ("Castiest fire", January 27). Failure to implement the much-needed land reforms in the agrarian sector is the main cause of Bihar's turmoil and the rise of naxalism there.

Anil Kumar Pandit New DelhiIndologist

The author has done an excellent job by paying a rich tribute to late Professor M.B. Emeneau ("An Indologist par excellence", January 27). He has documented the scholarly life of one of the greatest Indologists of the last century.

Rajesh Patnaik VishakhapatnamVedic creationism

It may not be difficult for `paramatman' to programme Darwin's evolution in creating human beings or any other higher order beings ("Vedic creationism in America", January 27). Hence we can, in all honesty, believe in Vedic creationism and still think of ourselves as modern, scientific and enlightened. The all-knowing soul can play with science too; Darwin's evolution could be a part of super-being's devolution.

R. Malathi BangaloreKeezhavenmani

I read the article and had an opportunity to see the well-researched and painstakingly made film ("Keezhavenmani revisited", January 27). It was as if the ashes in the urn took a human form and spoke to us through the film.

M.C. Naidu ChennaiUranium mining

It is gratifying to note that the Khasi Students Union of Meghalaya and the Lambadas of Andhra Pradesh have firmly rejected the proposal to mine uranium in their areas. Quite clearly, the benefits for these people from these projects are minuscule ("Uranium crisis", January 13).

Dr. Sunil M. Caleb KolkataCaliforina textbooks

It is not because Indians have a fanatical streak that rewriting of history textbooks is being demanded ("A saffron assault abroad", January 27). The source of the confusion is the fact that our understanding of the earliest periods of Indian history is still incomplete.

Sujay Rao Mandavilli Chennai