Mail of the Week

PICTURE SPEAK

"The Cooker Bombers", October 16

"Your coverage of the investigations into the blasts reads like a James Hadley Chase novel. Kudos to the Mumbai Police for cracking the 'blinder'."

Anjum M. Samel, on e-mail

Crack in Time

The Mumbai Police deserve encomiums for cracking this case, but they need to develop foresight to avoid such macabre terror attacks in the future. The case is solved, but so many innocent lives were sacrificed due to mindless terrorist intentions ("How the Case Was Cracked", October 16).

K. Chidanand Kumar, Bangalore

Pakistan's double game as a "broker of peace" and perennial promoter of cross-border terrorism is established beyond doubt. It will cry foul over these reports and call them baseless or irresponsible, but the ongoing confidence-building measures and peace talks have to be seriously reviewed in the light of its shameless behaviour.

K.V. Raghuram, Wayanad

It is hard to believe that the 7/11 blasts case stands cracked. It should result in quick conviction of the terrorists and their accomplices.

J.P. Gupta, on e-mail

Your story makes me wonder what the ISI mark on pressure cookers signifies-a symbol of the product's quality or its users?

N. Nagarajan, Secunderabad

Usually, it takes ages for our intelligence to solve cases pertaining to terrorist activities, but this time the police were quick. Hope these revelations help change the world's perception of Pakistan.

Ravia Gupta, Bangalore

What is the use of pointing fingers at terrorists when we can't convict them? It will take 15 years to sentence them to death, upon which social activists will seek clemency for them.

B. Arun, Trichy

While we must compliment the Mumbai Police for cracking the case under the most trying circumstances, the need of the hour is to share such information on a reciprocal basis with the intelligence agencies of other countries that are under threat of terrorist attacks.

Navneet Dhawan, Delhi

Now that Pakistan's role in the terrorist attack has been proved, the US must stop financial assistance to that country.

M. Kumar, Delhi

Hang Those Doubts

Mohammad Afzal, convicted in the Parliament attack case, does not feel any remorse and shows no respect for the judiciary ("Hung View on Clemency", October 16). There's no reason for not hanging him. Sending him to prison will be an impetus to other terrorists.

V.S. Ganeshan, Bangalore

The prime accused in the Parliament attack petitioning for mercy is uncalled for. The honourable President should not interfere in the court's decision.

Kumar, on e-mail

The presidential decision on clemency for Afzal will show how much we care for the sentiments of citizens who have faith in our judiciary. It would be interesting to explore the reaction of our political leadership if the 14 dead were political leaders and not common citizens.

Ashok Gupta, Delhi

Afzal should have been hanged the moment his role in the Parliament attack was established. Why are we wasting time on someone who has nothing to offer except hatred?

M.N. Murthy, Bangalore

Terrorists have no business pleading for clemency, and those who support them should be branded as traitors. The case should have been nipped in the bud.

M.M. Kale, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh

The chorus of protest against the execution of Afzal and the call for clemency is outrageous, given the enormity of the offence. How can judicial verdict be turned into a pawn in the political chess game?

Sibani Sankar Samantaray, on e-mail

Slow and Steady

Shivraj Singh Chauhan deserves commendations for morphing into a fairly competent chief minister from the obscure politician that he was ("The Art of Survival", October 16). He should realise that the pulls and pressures of Indian politics can be too demanding even for a far more seasoned politician. However, for the beleaguered BJP, his measured progress should be heartening.

T.S. Pattabhi Raman, Coimbatore

Nothing to Bank On

In nationalised banks, customers have to wait a long time to get their work done-even if it is merely for getting the pass book updated ("Limited Access", October 16). The Reserve Bank should monitor the performance of all branches of nationalised banks and rank them periodically. The common man does not have any option but to maintain accounts in nationalised banks, as service charges in private banks are high.

Mahesh Kapasi, Delhi

Literacy and Lassitude

HE ALSO RAN

Shashi Tharoor made a graceful retreat sensing the inevitable, but was India's selection right? We have not exploited the diplomatic clout at our disposal. A. Jacob Sahayam, Thiruvananthapuram Being an aspirant of a permanent seat in the yet-to-be enlarged Security Council, India should not have projected a candidate for the UN top job. Biranchi Narayan Acharya, Cuttack India's candidate would have made a worthy UN secretary-general, given his experience with the organisation and his educational profile. It is sad that he had to opt out. Jinu Mathew, on e-mail

A.B.L. Srivastava, on e-mail

A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car, but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad, said Theodore Roosevelt. He was probably thinking on the lines of the Indian Government, which does not care about literacy.

S. Anirudh, Chennai

Needless Memorials

Your Offtrack on sepoy Harbhajan Singh is an example of the growing tendency among troops to erect memorials ("The Soul Sentinel", October 16). The unit and formation commanders encourage the charade, instead of putting a stop to it.

V.K. Singh, Gurgaon

Cricketing Blues

The men in blue are only going to make us turn blue in the face ("Mistimed Maladies", October 16). The experimentation of turning blue litmus to red does not seem to work as the combination and order of the chemicals have not yet been sorted out by the grumpy coach.

Colonel E.J. Sanchis, Pune

Wrong on Gandhi

If one observes the columnist's inference that Gandhi's "raison d'etre for non-violence was his desire for absolute power" is flawed, one might be accused of quoting out of context ("The Comeback Mahatma", October 16). But the dichotomy of the piece is that when one reads it in its proper context, the statement stands out as if highlighted in red.

Harry Rakhraj, on e-mail

Limit the Zones

The prime minister has hailed the SEZ scheme, adding that there is no going back ("Good, Bad, Ugly", October 9). The idea is good, but the way it is being thrown open to the private sector is a matter of concern. India should limit the exercise to 50 SEZs, and increase the figure after evaluating the progress.

S.S. Ramanatha Rao, Bangalore

Correction

It was wrongly mentioned in the article on Bagh-e-Bedil that Bedil lived from 1677 to 1720 ("Living Treasures", October 2). Bedil lived from 1644 to 1721. The error is regretted.

Index