I agree with Tavleen Singh about the General's twin set of rules-one for India and the other as an eyewash for the world ("Idiom of Distrust", January 28). In his speech to the nation-but meant for the world-General Pervez Musharraf said that Pakistan will continue to extend moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiris. But how does he infer that the Kashmiris need the support which his country is going to lend? All his words are mere excuses to promote terrorist activities in the name of freedom struggle. It will be wrong to think that Pakistan, if given time, will downscale the support that it extends to the terrorist organisations. India should continue to take the strong stand that it has been taking against Pakistan and try to bring about a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue even if it involves a military confrontation.

Yajnavalka Banerjee, Mumbai

Serial Killer

It beats my sensibilities why almost all television serials should be revolving around the hackneyed theme of a manipulative saas and her scheming bahu ("Witches in Diamante", January 21). I wonder if the majority of the Indian households don't feel insulted by the plottings of rich, bigoted, ritual-driven women. There is no scarcity of topical issues that can be highlighted and dramatised for television. Being from the middle class myself, I'd like to know why we don't have programmes on housewives who juggle with unglamorous careers and homes. Ekta Kapoor and her ilk have to do a lot of field work before reducing soaps to caricatures.

S.N. Singh, on e-mail

Prize Catch

In the "confessional" M.G.S. Narayanan says that National Fellowships were started by the ICHR six years ago ("Newsnotes", January 14). But I was awarded the same in 1988 for three years and without any precondition. In my Early Medieval Indian Society: A Study in Feudalism released last year, I have acknowledged the help given to me by the ICHR. It is wrong to say that I have not done any work. The book has already been reviewed in several periodicals. Besides, the rate of fellowship per month now is Rs 25,000 while I only got Rs 3,000 per month.

R.S. Sharma, Patna

Theory of Connectivity

In his column, Jairam Ramesh wonders why the wonderful days of the Indian Statistical Institute's (ISI) connections with Nobel prize winners had ended ("Bose were the Days", January 14). In the case of the ISI, the decline of its golden age can be dated to Jawaharlal Nehru's death because his support was replaced by the indifference of the government. Then, as now, it is hard for science to grow without government support and interest. However, the ISI's connections with Nobel prize-winners remain. Some of the best work on John Nash's equilibrium points was done at the ISI.

Jayanta Ghosh, Kolkata

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