Horns of the Dilemma

Letters Justice as the Fugitive I agree with Tavleen Singh that our government has been unable to address core issues that aid and abet terrorism in India ("Justice Denied", January 14). Unless we revamp our judiciary to make it impartial and efficient, and our police force to ensure the maintenance of law and order, we will remain vulnerable to perpetrators of terror. Rhetoric and jingoism should be relegated to the backburner to ensure safety for the common man. -Neeti Mehra, Delhi The coincidence of Tavleen Singh's column on denied justice appearing in the same issue as the obituary of Harshad Mehta only served as proof of the sad fact that in India, death comes sooner than judicial decisions-either the persons involved in the case die, or the matter itself dies a natural death. Even the disposal of mercy petitions to the President/governor takes a couple of years in the least. Punishment, if not swift, is no deterrent. -D.V. Madhava Rao, Chennai

Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf is too shrewd to get caught in a jam ("Between a Rock and a Hard Place", January 14). Everyone thought 9/11 would herald his ouster as there was no way he could side with the United States and simultaneously alienate Pakistan from the Taliban, thereby incurring the wrath of his people. But the artful dodger that he is, Musharraf did manoeuvre out of the imbroglio. He has been called wily, cunning and an opportunist. He is, in fact, all that and much more-just what Pakistan needs at this hour. Let us not underestimate him and his ingenuity.

-Dr Dilip Joshi, Pune

President Musharraf has been running with the hare and hunting with the hounds for long. Now that his game appears to be nearing its end, he has decided to act tough on all jehadi and militant groups in Pakistan. This is Musharraf's moment of reckoning. We should exert adequate diplomatic pressure to see that Pakistan minds its own business from now on.

-D.B.N. Murthy, on e-mail

After all these years the US has finally realised that Pakistan is a major exporter of Islamic terrorism and is, therefore, taking steps to restrain it. This belated response only proves the tongue-in-cheek observation of Winston Churchill that the Americans always do the right thing but only after they have tried everything else.

-V.V.S. Mani, on e-mail

In a Sad State

Laloo Yadav has made at least two major contributions to Bihar: through his gimmicks, he helped restructure Bihari society by giving the lower caste people the upper hand and he gave a new dimension to dirty politics ("Trying Times", January 14). Bihar is now reduced to a veritable cesspool of political vice, violence and intrigues. Politics and its associates-murders, scams, superficial promises, and not a hint of any development work-have been the only concerns of the state Government. Repeated scams, arrests and petty politics have made us Biharis too tired to even weep.

-Anand Bharat, on e-mail

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