Waiting in Vain

The time is ripe for raw and other intelligence agencies to be given a free hand in countering the threat of the ISI and replying in the language it best understands ("The Dons of Terror", February 25). It does not befit a nation of India's size to complain every now and again of cross-border terrorism. What is the Government waiting for? Another attack on Parliament? A nuclear attack? We need to take serious lessons from Israel and the way it deals with the so-called "dons of terror".

Amar Sanghavi, on e-mail

Letters

Song and Dance and Little Else Our politicians continue to ignore the urgent problems people face in everyday life ("Suffrage Circus", February 25). In the campaign for the recent polls, most political parties reduced their election meetings to entertainment shows. To ensure good attendance at rallies they had to rope in film stars. It is time political parties did something concrete and had the courage to go to the people with issues and not with popular Hindi songs and dialogues. Arindam Biswas, Kolkata The article reflected the pathetic state of our democracy. Even 55 years of independence have not been able to teach us the real meaning of democracy. Saddest is the fact that sometimes only about 40 per cent people vote and the party getting about a quarter of the votes gets to rule the country. Also, there is a supposition that officials are honest and the people are corrupt. Laws are coercive and repressive, and give undue power to officials without taking into consideration people's fundamental rights. Ravi Datt Sharma, Jalandhar

Apart from committing various crimes, people like Sheikh Omar and Aftab Ansari are also guilty of redefining the concept of Islam, which, ideologically, stands for non-violence and love for all. It is their biggest crime and they deserve exemplary punishment.

Seraj Yusha, Bhubaneswar

The arrest of sheikh and the apprehension and deportation of Ansari from the UAE vindicates India's stand that Pakistan is a haven for jehadi-underworld operatives. Little do these self-proclaimed torchbearers of Islam realise that their religious and ideological fervour have long lost credibility and they have ended up doing more harm than good to their religion. It's small wonder that today they stand isolated even in the Islamic world.

Nalini Vijayaraghavan, on e-mail

Guard the Home Front

However much we accuse Pakistan of spreading Islamic fundamentalism in India, it now seems the blame lies squarely with us ("The Boys Next Door", February 25). The Muslim-dominated by-lanes in the heart of Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad are fast becoming breeding grounds of Islamic terrorists. They are willing partners of the ISI for its "cause". Although this was known for a long time, successive governments and political parties took no action for fear of losing Muslim votes.

Ashok K. Das, Ahmedabad

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