It was fascinating to read about the most powerful people in contemporary India ("The High and Mighty", March 1). However, you should also have taken into consideration personalities like Raghunath Mashelkar and Sharad Pawar. A similar list on an international level would also be very interesting.

Nishad Navare, Thane

This wonderful edition will definitely inspire potential power people to make sure that they too appear on the list some day.

Prashant Mahaveer Jain, Bangalore

The power list gave us invaluable information about the elite section of our country.

Reema Nain, Indore

Please bring out a list of ordinary men and women who have made a difference in the lives of the unfortunate. It is time we recognised their contribution too.

D.B.N. Murthy, Bangalore

A perusal of your list shows that most powerful newsmakers do feature in it. However, there are two notable exclusions- Jagdish Khattar, managing director of Maruti Udyog and Pawan Kumar Munjal, managing director of Hero Honda Motors Ltd.

Milind Kher, on e-mail

It is a pity that only five women were included in the list. This only shows that you do not believe in proportionate representation of women. Unless you are implying that there are some "mightier" women behind the powerful men.

Gowri Sankaran, Chennai

The list is quite a letdown. It is erratic and appears to have been drawn up only to please the "haves". On the one hand you claim that the celebrities have been rated on the basis of their achievements in 2003. Then you include Sachin Tendulkar while inexplicably leaving out Rahul Dravid. You have mentioned that Jagmohan Dalmiya watches Balaji soaps every night. But Ekta Kapoor is surprisingly missing from the list.

Amitabh Nigam, on e-mail

It is disappointing to see India Today waste so many pages on useless information. I read the magazine to find out what happened in the past week, not to see a picture book of personalities.

Mallika Rajasekaran, on e-mail

Industrialists, entrepreneurs and mediapersons are unquestionably steering the country's providence and its dreams but the others in the list, like the film personalities, are toiling for their own gain rather than that of the nation.

K. Chidanand Kumar, Bangalore

Writing In Spite

Sadanand Menon's review of T.J.S.George's MS: A Life in Music is more an exercise in denigration ("His Master's Voice", February 23). Nowhere does Menon deny that M.S. Subbulakshmi is exceptionally gifted. His main grouse is that her career was advanced by her husband T. Sadasivam and the support they got from people like C. Rajagopalachari. What is wrong in people with influence promoting outstanding merit?

S. Venkatesan, on e-mail

Learning Problems

Murli Manohar Joshi should realise that the real hurdle to higher education is not the inability to pay fees but the inability to get admission ("Joshi's Lower Education", February 23). This arises from two factors-limited number of seats and inability of students to compete in the entrance test as they cannot spend hefty amounts on coaching classes. The first step towards making higher education accessible to poor students is to help them compete on a level playing field.

Sangeeta Bansal, Delhi

Joshi appears to be blind to the education scenario in our country where millions do not have access to primary education. The funds of the IIMs are utilised for research, consultancy, visiting faculties and on keeping his so-called "Shining India" glowing. It will be a sad day for India if these institutes become the fiefdoms of politicians and bureaucrats.

V.B.N Ram, on e-mail

Bad Medicine

Medical education in our country has become a capital intensive industry ("Oath of Hypocrites", February 23). Medical professionals churned out by dubious institutes are no better than mercenaries since from day one their motive is to realise their investment, with interest, and make a profit.

A. Pratima Lal, Berhampur

I was a lecturer at a so-called premier private engineering college in Delhi. I would like to say that the students deserved much better than the poor facilities provided by the college.

N. Gupta, on e-mail

The Medical Council of India (MCI) should cancel the registrations of those doctors who go to medical colleges only on the days of inspection to pose as permanent staff members. If this is done even to a handful of such doctors, no one will dare to indulge in such acts of falsehood in the future.

Dilip Phansalkari, on e-mail

Home Truth

I was infuriated to read about the NRIs who are building monstrous villas for their spoilt brats in a country where millions cannot afford one square meal a day ("Replica Homes", February 16). They should donate 5 per cent of the amount they have spent on their homes to open schools for the children of their chowkidars and servants who maintain those palaces.

Uma Ghirardi, France

Demands of Politics

Sonia Gandhi has demanded an apology from the Government for defaming the late Rajiv Gandhi on the Bofors issue ("A Brief Breather", February 16). Those who had accused Rajiv of receiving kickbacks are now the Congress' alliance partners. Will Sonia demand an apology from all of them or will she sweep all these issues under the carpet as she has done with the DMK?

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

Love on the Fast Track

In the times that we live in love has become more like instant coffee and noodles ("Instant Love Affair", February 9). The pleasure it gives will only be momentary and cannot be expected to last.

Arta Mishra, Cuttack