| All in the Name of Oil |
|
|
| "The US-led war on Iraq is a deviation
from the Food-for-Oil to Bombs-for-Oil programme." |
|
T.S. Chawla, Mohali
|
| |
| "A powerful negative character is present
in every field-politics, films and TV serials. If that is a woman,
the interest intensifies." |
|
Neelam Bhatia, Delhi
|
| |
| Frontal Attack |
| The details of the war in Iraq are horrifying ("Vision
of Hell", April 7). We are watching the destruction of Baghdad
and other Iraqi towns by bombs and missiles against which the people
have hardly any defence. Yet, they are adopting guerrilla-type attacks
to stall the progress of the US forces. One thing is for sure: even
if the coalition forces win the war, it will at best be a pyrrhic
victory won at a great cost to human lives. The best we can do is
to condemn the US invasion to capture oil fields and control Iraq's
economy through a puppet regime and send humanitarian aid and medical
supplies to the embattled Iraqis. |
|
D.B.N. Murthy, on e-mail
|
| |
| The stiff resistance offered by the Iraqi forces
must have destroyed the illusion of the coalition forces that victory
would be easy. It is unfortunate that hapless people are suffering
because of war in the name of providing freedom and justice to them.
This war may not change the political situation in the Middle East
but the oil establishments will be in US hands. It will be the beginning
of the end of the domination of Asian countries in oil production.
|
|
Santosh Kumar Pandey, Patna
|
| |
| Saddam Hussein is the head of a despotic military
regime that believes rogue states do not have any obligation to the
world community and can endanger peace in its country and all over
the world. The current situation invokes a deja vu about the world
before World War II. Europe was confused and divided and Adolf Hitler
could do as he pleased. Except that instead of Neville Chamberlain
we have Tony Blair today. And that this time, we are fighting on thinner
ice as Hitler did not possess any WMD. |
|
S.K. Makhija, Bhopal
|
| |
| Lessons of History |
| As far as Thomas Donnelly's dreams of the enduring
force of Pax Americana are concerned, all one can say is that power
leads to illusions and great power leads to grand illusions ("Present
at Creation", April 7). An empire built on brutality and injustice
will not last long. Just as the British Empire did not. |
|
Lalit chainwala, Bangalore
|
| |
| Brave New Order |
|
The story of the four courageous nuns who have stayed in Baghdad
with the children is amazing ("Holy Order", April 7).
It reminds one that there are many unsung heroes doing what they
can to make the world we live in a better place even when there
are bombs and shrapnel all around.
|
|
Mavis Smith, on e-mail
|
|
|
| Colour Code |
| We Indians are generally very conscious of colour
("White Lie", March 31). There are many who equate fairness
with beauty while a term like "kali kalooti" invites only
sneers. It is this mindset that generates a market for a plethora
of "whitening creams". |
|
Preeti Cherian, on e-mail
|
| |
|
| Vat Went Wrong |
|
The story on vat was informative but the opposition of the traders,
especially the small and rural traders, was not fully incorporated
("VAT is the Fuss About", April 7). A trader with an annual
turnover of Rs 6-7 lakh- his income will be about Rs 80,000-will
have to shell out Rs 2,500-3,000 if vat is implemented. This includes
the minimum voluntary tax of Rs 900, salary for an accountant, professional
fees of lawyer and chartered accountant and the huge stationery
expenses (the statutory forms are priced at Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs
100). The penalties-in terms of imprisonment and penal interest
rates-will be harsher under vat. Wherever vat is successfully implemented
it is a single-point and a single-slab system. This should be followed
in India. When taxation becomes simpler and easier there will be
less evasion of tax.
|
|
Sanjay Sethi, Organising secretary,
Confederation of All India Traders, Delhi
|
| |
| The VAT system of indirect taxation is mainly projected
from the political angle. Among the traders there are a lot of misgivings
about the system. The Central and state governments should explain
it to them. That a number of developing countries have adopted the
system is no reason for its introduction in India where political
parties having diverse political agendas govern the states. The Government
has to first hear out the concerns of the traders and industrialists
and then decide on introducing this new system. Heaven will not fall
if the implementation of this law is put on hold for another year. |
|
Jaiprakash Gupta, on e-mail
|
| |
| Hardly Healing |
| The Nadimarg massacre has once again exposed the
incoherent policy on militancy of the Jammu and Kashmir Government
("The Kiss of Death", April 7). Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's
so-called healing touch policy has only worsened the already bad situation.
The Central Government with the help of the state dispensation should
crack down on militant outfits and foil their plan of ethnic cleansing. |
|
Rajiv Vasisth, on e-mail
|
| |
| The plight of the Kashmiri Pandits is heart-rending.
It is high time India mobilised world opinion against troublemakers
and nipped the evil in the bud for once and for all, especially at
a time when the world has resolved to fight terror in any form, religious
or state-sponsored. |
|
Jinu Mathew, on e-mail
|
| |
| Whenever actions were initiated to bring peace
in the Valley, the militants have reacted in a gruesome manner, indulging
in indiscriminate killing of the innocents to divert the Government
from its peace measures. The Jammu and Kashmir Government should have
anticipated a violent reaction and provided full security to the life
and property of the people in the state, especially the minorities.
The targeting of the Pandits is clearly an indication of the militants'
displeasure in the move to resettle them in the Valley. |
|
Balaramakrishnan K., on e-mail
|
| |
| Dream Designs |
| The work of the Jahanaras gives designers like
me an incentive to reflect the past in contemporary styles ("Palimpsest
Pattern", April 7). It is a path that is not often trod by designers.
The story was a trailer of forgotten eras. |
|
Sarosh kazi, on e-mail
|
| |
| Power Saddled |
| Absolute power, which the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati seems to wield, has made her blind to the realities ("Mayawati
and the Banality of Power", March 24). We expected Mayawati as
a Dalit chief minister to be sensitive to the problems of the poor
but that seems misplaced as she became a "democratic despot". |
|
Biju muttathara, Pune
|
| |
|
| Rule No. 1 |
| You have pointed out that the only achievement
of the NDA Government's five years in power is political stability
("Leadership Dharma", March 31). Seeing the way the political
parties and their leaders change colours, it is no mean achievement
in a democratic set-up. Political stability brings many other advantages-development
and consistency in economic and foreign policies. By acknowledging
the stable political factor, you have given the Government credit
in all related fields. |
|
V.K. Biala, Allahabad
|
| |
| Jumped the Gun |
| The soldier on the cover is British and not American
(March 31). The rifle in his hands is the present British issue-Enfield
L85A1 (or SA 80), 5.56 mm. The standard issue for the US Army is the
M16. |
|
R. Vijayaraghavan, Kariavattom, Kerala
|
| |
| UNinhibited |
| Instead of just condemning and calling the war
on Iraq illegal, immoral and unjust, the member countries of UN, barring
the "coalition of the willing" should have taken concrete
steps to prevent the attack ("System Failure", March 31).
In all fairness, the proper step to be taken now is to strip the US
and its allies of their UN membership as they have acted in total
defiance of the UN Security Council and the UN Charter, putting a
question mark on the relevance of the world body. |
| S. Balakrishnan, Jamshedpur |
| |
| I had written about the Anita Tamarkar case of
sexual harassment by Dr Kanwaljeet Singh only after getting all the
relevant documentary evidence that clearly and specifically indicates
a case of harassment. Some of the important letters which are in the
possession of India Today are Tamarkar's first letter of complaint
to the vice-chancellor of Panjab University, a complaint made to the
Prime Minister's Office and another to the National Human Rights Commission,
both of which were forwarded by the respective offices to the chief
secretary of Punjab. |
| |
| The US attack on Iraq has proved that the UN Security
Council has become inconsequential. It is high time the UN members
categorically reminded the US and its allies, and in one voice, that
such high-handed behaviour can endanger world peace. |
|
Suhrud Javadekar, Pune
|
| |
| The Anglo-American invasion of Iraq has given a
new dimension to international relations. The Arab countries as well
as other Third World nations must do a thorough soul-searching as
the hitherto colossal spine of UN has been fractured beyond repair.
It is interesting to note that India has already lost its earlier
position as a star Non-Aligned nation. Indian foreign policy cannot
be neutral in the face of this Anglo-American power game in the Middle
East. We require a strong policy to carve out a leadership role. India
will have to prove that NAM was not an offspring of the Cold War but
an essential political power balance which can supplant a moribund
UN at the hour of crisis even today. |
|
Mahesh Misra, Bangalore
|
| |
| Fair and Foul |
| The triumph of fair women on the modelling scene
is only to be expected in a country that has a Rs 650-crore market
for fairness creams ("Vanity Fair", March 31). While matrimonial
ads seek wheat-complexioned brides, girls are named Vellaiammal (white
woman) and Sigappi (the red one) in Tamil Nadu. |
|
C.G. Prasad, Chennai
|
|
The Fall of a Dictator
CURRENT
ISSUE APRIL 21, 2003
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