LETTERS

Battle cry in Bihar

The aims of the "Battle cry in Bihar" (May 23) may be manifold. If the purpose of the `lathi rally' organised by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was to expose the provocation behind the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's `trishul diksha', it cannot be considered as having achieved the objective as it almost followed the same pattern of the VHP.

If the lathi rally was meant to expose the Bharatiya Janata Party as a communal organisation, was the RJD rally not a move to consolidate casteist forces? If it was meant to expose the failure of the BJP on all fronts, has Bihar succeeded on all those fronts? How can the failure of the government be justified as a failure of officials, as Chief Minister Rabri Devi claims? Can corruption of one group, say, the National Democratic Alliance, justify corruption by another?

In fact, besides the coming Assembly elections in the four States, all political parties are looking for the next Lok Sabha elections too. And political parties are trying to find some sort of opium in the form of trishul, lathi, cow, caste, community, conversion, statue, name, region, religion and so on to cover up their failure in achieving progress. As a result, there is rising intolerance and hatred.

A. Jacob Sahayam Received on e-mailPens instead of tridents

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has taken a good step towards promoting communal harmony by convening a meeting with VHP leaders to discuss the distribution of tridents, which has created a communal atmosphere in the country.

As the adage goes, "Good news is no news, only bad is". Much importance has been attached by the media to the distribution of tridents. These are all political stunts to gain popularity. If we are intelligent enough and believe in promoting communal harmony by following only nation-building steps, we should avoid paying heed to such activities. Those who indulge in destructive activities will themselves see reason if ignored by the majority of the people of the country. We should develop an environment of distributing pens to the children of the country instead of tridents and such other materials.

Communal harmony is of utmost importance in taking the nation to newer heights of success and growth. We should not allow a handful of people to vitiate the atmosphere in the name of caste, creed, colour, religion, region, majority or minority.

Tanveer Alam New DelhiAyodhya

In modern times, one records the place of birth of a person, but the exact address of the birthplace of a child is not recorded because it is not relevant.

According to the Ramayana, Rama was born in Ayodhya, which is Ramjanmabhoomi, and this is accepted as a historical fact by not only Hindus but others as well. But the precise site in Ayodhya where Rama was born (Ram Janmasthan) can never be established because Rama lived millennia ago. Incidentally, there are dozens of Rama temples in Ayodhya, all of which claim to be built exactly at his birthplace.

The Central government asserted before the Liberhan Commission that "it is admitted by one and all that the site in dispute is the Ram Janmasthan (birthplace)". That the only dispute is whether there existed a temple at the site in dispute, and whether it was demolished and a mosque built in its place, is defective, because it confuses Ram Janmasthan with Ram Janmabhoomi.

The people of Ayodhya are happy with the Ram Janmabhoomi that is not disputed; they just want peace. This is what I found when I visited the town on March 31.

Maj.-Gen. S.G. Vombatkere (Retd) Received on e-mail

Crime against culture

The acts of looting all precious articles from and vandalising the heritage museums of Baghdad (April 25) under the very nose of British and American troops will be recorded as being among the biggest crimes against the cultural history of mankind. How did such large-scale looting occur, especially when the entire country was under close surveillance by high-tech satellites and infra-red equipment? How were the artefacts allowed to leave Iraqi borders, to surface in Seattle, London and Chicago?

Certainly, all the fingers must be pointed at the generals of the invading forces. Some of the articles in the Iraqi museums were of such large sizes that the professionals, with the use of experienced helpers and movers and also with the use of lifting machines, would have been able to transport them. Some of the items were stolen from strong rooms, which were opened with the help of duplicate keys. Interestingly, American and British authorities have arrested and have been questioning some of their own soldiers who were found in the possession of priceless historical items. Even American and British journalists are being questioned about the missing artefacts.

It is now clear that the entire operation was well planned. President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair are personally responsible for this unpardonable crime.

Interestingly, the building housing the Iraqi Oil Ministry was well guarded right from the beginning of the war.

Mohan B. Wagh Mumbai* * *

The helplessness and pain reflected in the eyes of 12-year-old Ali Ismail Abbas (April 25), orphaned and both his hands amputated, will move any heart. This is typical of the price the innocent people of Iraq had to pay for the barbaric deeds of the U.S. and its allies. Their explanation that such civilian casualties are inevitable in a war shows how irresponsible and inhumane they are. If such a thing happens to their children and their countrymen, then it is uncommon; otherwise it is common!

It is the duty of the international community to see to it that if the allegations the U.S. and its allies made against Iraq are proved wrong, they should withdraw from Iraq immediately, apologise to the nation, and compensate it for their misdeeds.

G. Prasanth Mumbai* * *

I refer to the article "Embedded truths" by Kesava Menon (May 9). Your magazine has exposed through the publication of this article the double standards followed by powerful nations. Kudos to Frontline.

C. Ravindran VelloreNadimarg violence

Although the Nadimarg massacre was the first major incident of violence in Jammu and Kashmir since the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government assumed office, it should be extra cautious in dealing with terrorism ("The Nadimarg massacre", April 25). The fault lies with the police. Had the police taken necessary action in time, the outrage could have been avoided. Stringent action is required against the police personnel who failed to perform their duties. The "healing touch" policy cannot work alone. Timely action is also needed.

D.R. Jaware MaharashtraMcCarthy, where are you?

"McCarthy, where are you?" (May 23) by Praful Bidwai is revealing and disturbing. A campaign against the historian Romila Thapar by Hindutva forces in India and the U.S. is part of the wider campaign to saffronise history writing and all aspects of social life. This needs to be fought all over the world.

Here in Australia the `Sangh Parivar' is active but timid. It has no base among the Indian population. But it exploits the communal feelings, because of the cultural alienation caused by years of life overseas. The knowledge and outlook of its members is narrow and communal. Religion has become a convenient excuse for any debate.

Neeraj Nanda Victoria, AustraliaTamil Nadu's woes

Tamil Nadu, it appears, has quite a bit going for it (May 23). First, the government employees and teachers are on an agitational path in a joint struggle to secure their rights and privileges, which, they say, have been trampled upon by the government in recent times. The government seems to be wielding the big stick instead of using its negotiating skills.

Then comes "Chennai's architectural heritage", symbolised by the historic Queen Mary's College, running the risk of demolition to make way for a grand - presumably expensive - Secretariat away from the military environment of Fort St. George.

Finally, the "Withering Tamil Nadu". The article catalogues the woes in harrowing detail of people reeling under a 15-month spell of drought. This is a tragedy of monumental proportions summed up neatly by Kaliamma: "We are just physically alive. We are waiting for deliverance."

All that the Chief Minister has done is to lay the blame at the door of her Karnataka counterpart. She is in no mood to build any rapport with him in order to solve the acute water crisis. Jayalalithaa seems to be at loggerheads with the press too, especially at this crucial juncture when she needs its support badly. A sustained policy of confrontation with one and all, regardless of the outcome, brings about nothing but a tremendous waste of human and material resources.

Kangayam R. Rangaswamy Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.

The demise of a regime

It was surprising to read about bringing "democracy to Iraq... " in Frontline ("The political demise of a regime", May 9). Democracy cannot be transplanted; it has to sprout from the land. Environment can and does mould democracy as it develops.

The American independence movement started on the slogan of "no taxation without representation", and what became the constitutional convention began as an effort towards developing a trade policy among the original 13 colonies of America. Hence perhaps the philosophy and slant of the U.S. democracy towards commercial terms such as utilitarian and cost-benefit. Indian democracy blossomed in the aftermath of the enervating colonialism. Even today, the energy of the "big bang" of independence permeates the background, distorted as it may be by the attitudes of and events in neighbouring countries. Democracy does not seem to have taken strong roots in Russia; the tradition has not been built up, brick by brick.

Then, what is the environment for democracy in Iraq? How can any country "bring democracy" to it? Sure enough any democracy can nurture Iraqi grassroots movements, latent as they may be now.

Raghuram Ekambaram New DelhiMilitary ties with the U.S.

This is with reference to the article "Weighed down by history" (May 23). It is sad that plans are under way to replace 20 to 25 per cent of India's predominantly Russian military hardware with American products. It is said that a "friend in need is a friend in deed". Instead of supporting the Russians at this juncture, is it good to lean towards the U.S. to fulfil our requirements? All the talk of engaging Indian is only a U.S. game to trap India and utilise Indian resources in a confrontation it may have with China. Instead of strengthening bilateral relations with our neighbours, are we not committing a mistake by attaching more importance to a country that is thousands of kilometres away? A war-mongering country like the U.S. can never be a natural ally of a peace-loving nation like India.

Vasudev Sripathy Received on e-mail