Marked Twain

Letters

"It's time to dismantle BCCI and constitute BDCI, Board for Developing Cricket in India, since development, not control, is the key to success." G.V.V. Sarma, on e-mail

If India is hurtling towards ethnic polarisation and destruction, blame it on the religious preachers who inflame gullible minds with hatred and suspicion towards other communities, politicians who add fuel to the fire to stay in power in an era of fractured politics, and the media which fans the flames of hatred through sensational reports and analyses ("Divided We Stand", August 26).

Romy Sakharia, Kochi

Never before Perhaps has India been as deeply divided as it is today, thanks to the caste and creed-based politics and a system of governance that is unsuited to Indian ethos. Our politicians have managed to achieve in five decades what others could not accomplish in centuries.

Wing Commander (Retd) S.C. Kapoor, Noida

The way skeletons are tumbling out of the NDA Government's cupboard, no opinion poll is required to gauge the mood of the nation. In fact, it is surprising that Atal Bihari Vajpayee still commands considerable respect.

D.V. Madhava Rao, Chennai

The most dubious triumph of our pseudo-secular stalwarts bereft of ideas and ideology is to equate secularism with mindless anti-Narendra Modiism. There is no surprise in Modi topping popularity ratings in Gujarat: BJP's opponents have blundered in reducing the whole Gujarat tangle to Modi and besides, Modi's foes are no better than him.

T.S. Pattabhi Raman, Coimbatore

When 534 MPs cannot remain united for a few days in Parliament, it is useless to expect heartening results from one billion people. Indians have never remained united. Foreign hands with the collaboration of local fingers always got a favourable opportunity to divide Indians.

Bhupinder Singh Parmar, Jalandhar

It is bad that a survey that claimed to be borne out of concern over religious divergence in India proceeded to underline and magnify the differences with statistics and labels.

Nazu Tonse, Bangalore

Task Forced

Your edit unleashed a lacerating invective on the role of the Election Commission (EC) in postponing the Gujarat elections ("In the Name of Gujarat", August 26). The EC has taken desperate measures to combat the desperate situation in Gujarat. Is there any suggestion on how a free and fair election can be held at a time when a traumatised community has still not recovered from the shock of communal conflagaration?

Prasanna Raghav, on e-mail

Your observation that opposition parties are suffering from "electoral paranoia" is offensive and insensitive. Considering the scale of displaced people in Gujarat, it is only just that elections were deferred. The right to vote is fundamental to the functioning of a democratic state and holding elections before rehabilitation would deny this right to many.

Rishabh Bhandari, Oxford, UK

I am dismayed that you support the BJP's view against the CEC. The party is aggrieved because it was the opportunity to electorally capitalise on the mass murder, rape and arson that took place in the state. You have forgotten the millions of Gujaratis who will probably never have the courage to vote in the current atmosphere of officially-sanctioned hatred in Gujarat.

Sanjoy Mukherjee, Kolkata

By acting as the watch- dog for peace in Gujarat, the CEC is imitating the judiciary and overstepping his limit: he doesn't have the legal jurisdiction, the knowledge of the judiciary and the understanding of the public mindset.

Keshav Agarwal, on e-mail

Missing Link

The demands made and charges levelled by Madhu Sharma are specious ("Unusual Suspect", August 26). It is not feasible to hand over all criminal cases to the CBI. Moreover, this case has been highlighted to such an extent that it would not be easy for anyone-not even influential people-to manipulate it, as feared by Ravi Kant Sharma's family. If Ravi Kant is innocent, he should emerge from his hideout and reveal the names of the "guilty" politicians.

S.C. Agrawal, Delhi

House Arrest

Your story proves that it is not poverty but attitude that makes a person an illegal occupant of government land ("Delhi's VIP Squatters", August 26). In fact, the prominent squatters are the democratically elected peoples' representatives, who never tire of preaching virtues to the common man. Moreover, unless the trend of dedicating memorials to VIPs is stopped immediately, Delhi will soon become a city of squatters and memorials.

V. Sagar, Delhi

A memorial to Babu Jagjivan Ram, a symbol of Gandhian egalitarianism, will inspire nationalist sentiments. It is appropriate that his house for more than three decades be the place for such a memorial.

Siddharth Sharma, Delhi

To set the facts right, Ramakrishna Hegde ceased to be a Rajya Sabha member on April 2 this year and was asked to vacate the premises on May 9. He wrote to the Directorate of Estates a week before his tenure got over to grant him a three-month extension of stay as he was in Bangalore at the time and advised against travelling on medical grounds. The extension was orally granted.

Much before the period ended, Hegde asked his staff to hand over the charge of the bungalow. The CPWD was informed and on the suggestion of Hegde, the water and electricity supply in the house were disconnected on August 5 and his personal belongings moved out. Hegde has not been to Delhi in the past six months and has had to be hospitalised. In fact, due to ill health he could not attend the last session of Parliament where he was to make his farewell speech. As a senior Union minister in the NDA Cabinet, Hegde was entitled to a ministerial bungalow but he preferred to stay in the much smaller Rajya Sabha quota house allotted to him.

S.P. Gautam, General Secretary, Janata Dal (United), Delhi

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